With the San Francisco 49ers slumping and owning a 3-4 record heading into the weekend, one NFL executive offered the team some radical advice. Trade quarterback Brock Purdy.
The 49ers 2024 campaign is quickly turning into a nightmare. They entered the season with grand hopes of finishing the story they did not complete in February. Yet they have dealt with drama and bad luck since they fell to the Chiefs in last season’s Super Bowl.
Related: Where do the San Francisco 49ers land in our Week NFL offense rankings?
After finally getting unhappy players back on the field with new contracts, the team has been overwhelmed by a slew of injuries. Things hit a new low in Week 7 when Deebo Samuel was sent to the hospital with pneumonia. And fellow star receiver Brandon Aiyuk suffered a season-ending ACL tear. Furthermore, 2024 MVP candidate Chrisitan McCaffrey has missed the entire year with an Achilles injury.
It is why the San Francisco 49ers were the focus of a new column from The Athletic NFL insider Mike Sando this week. In the story, the weaknesses in the team’s roster are explored as wasting draft picks in trades and failed contracts are starting to have an effect on the once-powerful franchise.
Sando spoke to several executives about the team’s long-term outlook. And one in particular offered up some shocking advice to the San Francisco front office.
“They need to make a decision about whether they should just be moving on from this older core and building around Purdy. Or do they trade Purdy, get stuff for him, and go with a cheaper option at quarterback?” the exec said.
- Brock Purdy stats (2024): 1,841 passing yards, 9 touchdowns, 7 interceptions, 91.2 passer rating
NFL exec says San Francisco 49ers QB Brock Purdy is not ‘a dude’
Obviously, this sounds like an absolutely foolish idea at first glance. Purdy has been a revelation for the franchise after being the final pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. Franchise quarterbacks are hard to find and it seems like the 49ers have one in him.
However, he will be eligible for a massive contract extension after this season. Investing a huge amount of cap space in a QB who is flawed and can’t get a team over the top is a big risk. And it’s what that same very bold executive pointed to as something San Francisco should seriously ponder based on the current makeup of their roster.
“It’s about being a guy being a dude, and Purdy is not in that ‘dude’ category,” the exec said.
The Los Angeles Rams’ failure with Jared Goff after his extension, Tua Tagovailoa’s very problematic new Miami Dolphins contact, and the Dallas Cowboys current situation with Dak Prescott were among the examples the executive cited as reasons why big contracts to QBs that are not that “dude” are costly.
The San Francisco 49ers are likely to scoff at this idea, and so will most fans. But it is an intriguing look at what is truly the best strategy for a franchise. Being good but just inches short of being great yearly, or taking a big swing at being great just once?
Related: Find out where Brock Purdy and Dak Prescott land in our Week 8 NFL QB rankings