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Will the 49ers Make Brock Purdy Play Out his Rookie Contract?

If Purdy truly were a franchise quarterback, you'd think his deal would be done by now.
Grant Cohn|
Jan 5, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Jan 5, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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San Francisco 49ers

When the 49ers season ended, Brock Purdy said he wanted to sign his extension with the 49ers as soon as possible.

Well, it's Wednesday, March 19, 2025, and he still hasn't signed his extension. In fact, the negotiation still seems to be in its infancy stages, which is interesting considering Josh Allen already signed an extension this offseason. The Bills wrapped that up quickly.

If Purdy truly were a franchise quarterback like Allen, you'd think his deal would be done by now.

But Allen is coming off an MVP season and most people agree he has been a top-two-or-three quarterback in the NFL since 2020.

Purdy is not a top-three quarterback and he is not coming off an MVP season. He's coming off a down season in which he went 6-9, missed the playoffs and got injured twice. If we're being brutally honest, he's probably the 12th or 13th best quarterback in the league, in the same tier as Sam Darnold, Geno Smith, Kyler Murray and Tua Tagovailoa.

Those are bridge quarterbacks. Guys who are good but not great. And so even when they're starters, their teams should be looking around for someone else who can be special.

If Purdy wants to be seen as a bridge quarterback, he can accept a modest three-year deal that keeps the 49ers' options open at quarterback.

Or, if Purdy wants to be seen as a true franchise guy, he can reject a three-year offer, play out the final season of his rookie contract, beat out Mac Jones in a quarterback competition, stay healthy for 17 games, lead the 49ers back to the playoffs, win a playoff game and go to the Pro Bowl.

If Purdy does all of that, he'll get the extension he wants.

He should bet on himself.

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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