Aaron Rodgers has some time on his hands, and he's been able to keep an eye on what is happening around the NFL landscape. He didn't watch Sunday's game between the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals but glimpsed at the stat line from the Niners' second-year quarterback, Brock Purdy.
Purdy has not yet lost a regular-season game in his NFL career, going back to last season's standout rookie run. He turned in a near-flawless performance on Sunday, setting a franchise record for the highest completion percentage in a single game (95.2) after connecting on 20 of his 21 pass attempts.
Yet, skepticism persists around Purdy's credentials, partly due to his selection as the final overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Rodgers, the injured New York Jets quarterback, joined the "Pat McAfee Show," as he often does, and shared his perspective on the 49ers' emerging talent.
"I didn't see the game, but I saw the stats, and I'm a fan, for sure," Rodgers said. "I think he's done some great things. ... I think people always have to have some sort of caveat, like Kyle [Shanahan] such a great play caller and he's got [RB Christian McCaffrey] and [WR] Deebo [Samuel] and [TE George] Kittle and all these guys. At some point, I think some of that's going to die down. They're going to realize that Brock's a pretty damn good player."
Rodgers' sentiments regarding Purdy are quickly being adopted across the league. The 49ers quarterback is showing great poise and exceptional decision-making while commanding one of the NFL's most respected and innovative offenses.
"It's hard to play in this league," Rodgers continued. "... Brock has done some great things, and at some point, people are going to be like, 'Okay, well, maybe it's not just that Kyle's a great play caller and he's got these weapons.' But you still got a guy who's got to pull the trigger every single time and make decisions.
"And I watched the game a couple of weeks ago, and I thought he made like three or four really high-level throws, back-shoulder throws, and tight-window throws, and then a couple of look-offs. So I got nothing but praise for Brock and respect for the way he's played."
More must-reads: