It might have taken Brock Purdy until Week 13 of his rookie year to take over as the 49ers’ starter, but head coach Kyle Shanahan knew he was destined for that job at some point anyway.
49ers CEO Jed York on Thursday spoke with reporters at team headquarters and relayed a story about an interaction he and Shanahan had during the 2022 preseason.
York was talking about how direct Shanahan is and recalled how the head coach grabbed him for a chat during training camp of Purdy’s rookie year.
While Jimmy Garoppolo was still with the team and Trey Lance, the second-year No. 3 overall pick, was slated to be the starter, Shanahan wanted the team’s CEO to know that the final pick from that year’s draft might actually be the best QB on the roster.
Here’s the full story via 95.7 the Game:
Jed York with an incredible story about last training camp, when Kyle Shanahan told him he thought Brock Purdy was the 49ers' best QB:
"He grabs me after practice like, 'Hey man, we gotta talk.'
He's like, 'I think our third-string quarterback's our best quarterback." 😮 pic.twitter.com/JmHsdYsuFY
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) February 1, 2024
After the draft that year it looked like Purdy was destined to be the team’s practice squad quarterback. It looked like Garoppolo would either be cut or traded, Lance would be the starter, and Nate Sudfeld would be Lance’s backup.
Then during Week 2 of the preseason 49ers team broadcaster Greg Papa mentioned on the television broadcast that Purdy had closed the gap with Sudfeld. Then the 262nd overall pick went out and played well against Minnesota.
By that point Garoppolo was back in the mix after restructuring his contract, so Sudfeld and Purdy were duking it out for the third QB job. It turns out rostering Purdy instead of the veteran Sudfeld was a franchise-altering move, and Shanahan’s early recognition of his talent might not have only saved his own job, but it might also be a key reason the 49ers hoist a sixth Lombardi Trophy.
