Before the 2024 NFL season kicked off, expectations were understandably high for Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers. It was mostly because the team had advanced to the Super Bowl and the NFC Championship game the previous two seasons. Unfortunately, they couldn’t keep that momentum going, and last season was the first time Purdy found himself watching the playoffs from home.
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Critics wasted no time in questioning whether Purdy had lost his magic. However, the 25-year-old disagrees. The former Mr. Irrelevant believes the 49ers’ struggles last season were related to exhaustion rather than a drop in talent.
Brock Purdy recently appeared on the Built 4 More podcast, where the signal caller opened up about the brutal grind that took a toll on him and his teammates in recent years.
Purdy entered the 2023 offseason with the regret of not beating the Eagles in the 2022 NFC Championship Game. On top of it, he got a UCL tear, and his backup quarterback sustained a concussion. As a result, Kyle Shanahan’s men entered the season in the worst possible way.
“Two years ago, after my rookie year, I think we all had this bad taste in our mouth ’cause our whole team felt like we didn’t have a chance to compete against the Eagles in the NFC Championship,” Purdy said.
“I get a torn UCL, the backup quarterback gets a concussion—boom, season ripped away from everybody. It’s like, hold up. So we came back just on one.”
Those setbacks clearly gave Purdy & Co. the drive they needed to make an incredible run that culminated in a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl LVIII. What they didn’t expect, though, was the short turnaround between the Super Bowl and the training camp for the 2024 season. “That season, dude, is no joke,” he added.
“When you go from July—training and everything—all the way to the end of February, and then you really get five weeks off or so, and you gotta report back, and then you’re going again, it’s like… dude, guys are tired. They’re still beat up. Their bodies—especially for these guys that are getting older—it’s not easy.”
When you have a roster full of tired legs without proper rest for the last two seasons, the most likely result will be injuries in the third season. Unsurprisingly, the 49ers were plagued by injuries all season. And what hurt Purdy and the team the most was the extent of their injuries.
For instance, it’s extremely rare for your entire running back depth chart to get injured for the rest of the year in a season. So did WR Brandon Aiyuk, whose torn ACL and MCL ended his campaign.
Purdy’s key offensive cogs all sustained injuries, and the QB himself played with a shoulder knock for the majority of the season. It was little surprise that Kyle Shanahan’s men ended the campaign 6-11.
“Last year, we just had a lot of things go crazy and wild, like with injuries and whatnot. So, you just—you can’t take things for granted.”
That said, Brock Purdy isn’t dwelling on the past. If anything, missing the playoffs has only fueled his hunger to bounce back stronger.
“Going into this year, it’s like: how can I just continue to press that gas pedal? Not only for my team, but for myself—be hard on myself, dude. Like, with the potential that I have, watching film and all those things.”
With a fully rested squad and a renewed mindset, Purdy seems ready to prove that 2024 was merely a bump in the road.
