49ers' Brock Purdy reacts to 'game manager' controversy

Retired quarterback Cam Newton generated headlines and attracted controversy when he said earlier this week he believes that San Francisco 49ers signal-caller Brock Purdy and other current MVP candidates are simply "game managers." 

Purdy declined to strike back at Newton during a Thursday news conference. 

"I don't know, man," Purdy responded when asked if he agreed with Newton's assessment, per David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone. "I don't want to comment on that. I'm playing quarterback, trying to win games, and we'll see at the end of all of it."

Teammates such as dual-threat offensive weapon Deebo Samuel, offensive tackle Trent Williams and fullback Kyle Juszczyk recently campaigned for Purdy to earn MVP votes and also blasted takes about the 23-year-old being little more than a "system quarterback." 

According to ESPN stats, Purdy enters the weekend leading the NFL among qualified players with a 74.6 adjusted QBR (tied with Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys), a 116.9 passer rating, an average of 9.9 yards per pass attempt and a 70.2% completion percentage on the season. The final pick of the 2022 draft is third with 3,553 total passing yards and tied for second with 25 touchdowns through the air. 

Purdy spoke on Thursday about how head coach Kyle Shanahan highlighting negative plays during film sessions helps players remain focused on the team's ultimate goal of winning Super Bowl LVIII.

"At the end of the day, you have a standard for yourself," Purdy explained. "You want to be consistent as best as possible. As a quarterback in the NFL, there's little room to mess up. And so I think, if you're in the NFL and you're a quarterback, you gotta be somewhat of a perfectionist. You want those two plays back. You want to learn from them and grow from them."

As of late Friday morning, oddschecker listed Prescott as the betting favorite at +170 odds over Purdy at +185 to win the MVP Award. Purdy's next opportunity to close that gap will come when the 10-3 Niners play at the 3-10 Arizona Cardinals this Sunday.