Overview
- The 49ers have Brock Purdy under a five-year, $265 million extension that keeps him the franchise starter and makes a benching unlikely absent injury or dramatic decline.
- Offseason moves that brought Mike Evans and Christian Kirk into the receiver room have raised external expectations that San Francisco’s passing game can be more explosive in 2026.
- Pro Football Focus flagged unusually poor interception luck for Purdy in 2025, showing a high conversion of turnover-worthy throws to interceptions and suggesting his box-score turnover totals may overstate his process risk.
- Former 49ers safety Donte Whitner publicly criticized Purdy’s reliance on play-action and scheme-driven plays, arguing Purdy has not yet proven he can repeatedly engineer long, drop-back comeback drives.
- Mac Jones’ solid 2025 starts and national projections such as ESPN naming Purdy an early MVP candidate have intensified scrutiny about Purdy’s consistency, health and whether he can translate system success into independent elite performance.