49ers’ Christian McCaffrey shares what makes Brock Purdy a 'special' QB

San Francisco 49ers players have scoffed at takes claiming the club overpaid quarterback Brock Purdy after signing him to a five-year, $265M contract extension that included $181M in guarantees and a no-trade clause in May.

During a recent appearance on NFL Network, 49ers star running back Christian McCaffrey discussed why he feels it's "special" to share an offense with Purdy. 

"People forget how good he is at making plays that are unscripted," McCaffrey said about Purdy, as shared by David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone. "And maybe one time he sees something that's covered, and he knows it's not covered — and playing with instinct and swagger. It's tough to coach that because that's just confidence, that's him being him. I think that's what makes him so special is his ability to make any throw on the field, do it on time, but also those unscripted plays, the scrambles, and just making plays with his feet, with his arm, some of those things you just can't teach."

McCaffrey, Purdy, left tackle Trent Williams, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk and tight end George Kittle all missed games last season as injuries plagued San Francisco, and saw them fall from 5-4 to 6-11. While Purdy tossed 12 interceptions over 15 games, his overall numbers were decent.

According to Pro Football Reference, Purdy ended the 2024 regular season ranked seventh in the NFL among qualified players with a 67.9 adjusted QBR, fifth with an average of 257.6 passing yards per game and ninth with a 49.4 percent passing success rate. 

During the offseason, the 49ers made salary-cap-clearing decisions that involved parting ways with key players such as wide receiver Deebo Samuel and linebacker Dre Greenlaw. Nevertheless, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Niners tied for fourth among the betting favorites at +950 odds to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LX as of Wednesday.

"I think this team's very mature," McCaffrey said about expectations for the 2025 49ers. "We have a lot of guys who have played in big games, won big games, and know what it takes, so that ups the sense of urgency."

Fair or not, some within the locker room may look for Purdy to be at his best this fall after becoming one of the league's highest-paid quarterbacks. San Francisco opens the season with a matchup against the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 7.