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Does 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan See Brock Purdy as a Franchise Quarterback?

A true franchise quarterback is worth more than $50 million per season because he makes other players better. He doesn't need the most expensive weapons in the league. He simply needs a quality offensive line so he can stay upright and make the plays that win the game.
Grant Cohn|
May 10, 2024; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan watches during the 49ers rookie minicamp at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA. Mandatory Credit: Robert Kupbens-USA TODAY Sports
May 10, 2024; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan watches during the 49ers rookie minicamp at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA. Mandatory Credit: Robert Kupbens-USA TODAY Sports | Robert Kupbens-USA TODAY Sports

Kyle Shanahan has said that Brock Purdy is the real deal, but does that mean he's a franchise quarterback in his eyes?

A true franchise quarterback is worth more than $50 million per season because he makes other players better. He doesn't need the most expensive weapons in the league. He simply needs a quality offensive line so he can stay upright and make the plays that win the game.

A true franchise quarterback is the most important person in the organization -- far more important than the head coach. Does Shanahan think Purdy is more important than him? Does Shanahan think anyone is more important than him?

Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen are true franchise quarterbacks, so their teams don't spend big money on wide receivers or running backs. They prefer to spend on their offensive lines because if their quarterbacks have time, they'll win.

Meanwhile, the 49ers still spend huge money on weapons and as little as possible on the offensive line. This suggests that Shanahan thinks he needs to prop up Purdy with as much firepower as possible. And if Purdy gets injured behind the 49ers' subpar offensive line, oh well,. Lots of quarterbacks can play well on the 49ers until they get injured because the weapons are good.

When Shanahan finally starts investing in his offensive line and trading away players such as Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel and Christian McCaffrey, then you'll know he truly believes that Purdy can carry the team the way other franchise quarterbacks do.

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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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