Iowa State Legend Brock Purdy Fires Back at Critics

You don’t start your NFL career as Mr. Irrelevant and simply avoid doubters throughout your career. The doubt doesn’t magically go away after signing your first big contract extension either.

None of that is lost on former Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy, who signed a five-year, $265 million contract earlier this month. The NFL world groaned over the contract news as Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers missed the playoffs in 2024 while the 25-year-old’s production settled closer to Earth.

Playing in head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense is a blessing and a curse for Purdy. It’s a quarterback-friendly scheme that relies on ball-carriers to make the plays while the quarterback makes sound decisions. For a player like Purdy, the phrase ‘system quarterback’ gets tossed around as an insult, but just like any quarterback labelled as such, it isn’t such an insult to him.

"The whole system quarterback thing, early in my career, it was just funny hearing that," Purdy said this week in a radio interview, via CBS Sports. "I'm not going to lie, I took that as I'm a guy that can come in and do what the coach says and win games because of that. So to me, that was more of a compliment, and I sort of ran with that. But outside of that, I don't buy into really anything that anyone says. That's been the story of my life, man. From being a late recruit from high school to college to the last draft pick, that's the story of my life."

Shutting out the noise is a required trait for every quarterback in the league. There’s a required mindset for anyone talented enough to hold the position.

For Purdy, even if he goes out and throws for 4,500 yards and 35 touchdowns this season, there will still be people on social media excusing his performance because of Shanahan’s offense, the playmakers San Francisco employs, or the rich history of the franchise. But like Purdy says, it’s all just talk, and he has a job to do.

"Everybody has an opinion," Purdy said. "I'm not going to lie, I laugh at some things that I do hear. Obviously, I don't tune into to every single opinion or thing. I'm a man of faith, and so for me, I just take it one day at a time. I just walk in the locker room, love on my guys here, walk out to the field and get better and try to find ways to win on Sunday.”

Winning is the only thing that matters in the NFL. Purdy has been good at that with a career record of 23-13 and a trip to two NFC Conference games and a Super Bowl already under his belt. It’s safe to say Purdy has his head in the right place early into what is shaping up to be a promising NFL career.