What Brock Purdy did wrong during 49ers' doomed 2024 season

Some members of the NFL community said back in May that the San Francisco 49ers overpaid to make quarterback Brock Purdy happy when they signed him to a five-year, $265M contract extension that included $181M in guarantees and a no-trade clause. 

Critics of the deal pointed out that Purdy wasn't able to help the 2024 49ers overcome a noteworthy injury crisis as the club fell from 5-4 to 6-11. For an article published on Friday, NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated addressed what went wrong for Purdy less than one year after the 49ers were a fourth-down stop away from winning the Super Bowl. 

"[Purdy] got to a point last year where, admittedly, he tried to do too much to combat the rash of injuries that took down so many of the pieces around him — his coaches gave him cutups to illustrate it in the spring," Breer wrote. "Which is to say that last year set him up for what he’ll be faced with this year and going forward." 

Purdy's overall numbers from the 2024 campaign were hardly terrible. Pro Football Reference shows he ended the season ranked seventh in the league among qualified players with a 67.9 adjusted QBR and fifth with 257.6 passing yards per game. Over 15 contests, he tossed 20 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions.

One will never know what could have been for Purdy and the 49ers had he, left tackle Trent Williams, running back Christian McCaffrey, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk and tight end George Kittle not missed games last season because of injury setbacks. What's done is done, and the 49ers made some salary-cap-clearing decisions earlier in the year before they locked Purdy down via his expensive extension. 

"He’s a pretty level guy in general," Breer added about Purdy, "and my sense is that experience (during the 2024 season) will prepare him to handle what’s coming with all the moving parts around him. But there’s no question, his importance to the team is heightened with the amount of transition going on."

In short, it sounds like 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan wouldn't mind if Purdy is somewhat of a game manager when San Francisco opens the upcoming campaign with a matchup at the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 7.