Hall of Famer takes victory lap about 49ers' Brock Purdy

Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe recently made it known he felt San Francisco 49ers starter Brock Purdy is "not an elite quarterback" and enjoyed somewhat of a victory lap regarding those comments after the 49ers fell to the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night. 

"I knew what he was to begin with," Sharpe said about Purdy during Tuesday's edition of the ESPN "First Take" program, per David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone. "I noticed when we had this conversation about three weeks ago...I was trending because I said Brock Purdy wasn't elite. Now, all of a sudden, I ain't get nothing. Nobody was on my timeline [saying], 'Shannon doesn't know what he's talking about. Shannon's a hater. He's jealous.' I didn't get any of that last night."

Purdy completed 21-of-30 pass attempts for 272 yards with a touchdown in the 22-17 loss at the Vikings on Monday. As Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio explained, the 23-year-old also tossed two costly fourth-quarter interceptions across the game's final six minutes when the visitors were trailing by five points. 

While Purdy holds a career 10-2 regular-season record, Sharpe echoed his previous take and suggested the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft who has now lost back-to-back starts for the first time as a pro is merely a product of San Francisco's system. 

"When everything around him couldn't be perfect, and they asked Brock Purdy to deliver us, he didn't," Sharpe continued. "He didn't do it. He is what he is." 

As shown by ESPN stats, Purdy enters Week 8 ranked second in the NFL among qualified players with a 75.6 adjusted QBR, a 107.2 passer rating and an average of 8.6 yards per pass attempt. He recorded 11 touchdown passes and three interceptions over San Francisco's first seven games, but all three of those picks occurred over the past two contests. 

The 5-2 49ers will look to return to winning ways when they host the 3-3 Cincinnati Bengals this coming Sunday. As of Tuesday afternoon, OddsChecker listed the Niners as five-and-a-half-point favorites for that matchup.