The San Francisco 49ers have made it clear, even in the wake of a severely underwhelming 6-11 season, that they have no doubts about Brock Purdy as the future of their franchise at the quarterback position.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan said of Purdy at the 49ers’ end-of-season press conference: “Brock is the leader of our team, I’ve loved these three years with Brock, I plan on being with Brock here the whole time I’m here.”
But, following a campaign in which he failed to reach the heights of his spectacular 2023 season amid several injuries to key offensive players, it would be understandable if they had some doubts about paying him true top-of-market money.
Purdy was far from the main reason why the 49ers were left to watch the playoffs from home for the first time since the 2020 campaign, and recent events in the postseason should have served to remove any lingering concerns about paying him.
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff was last offseason given a four-year, $212 million extension paying him an average of $53 million per year. It included a $73 million signing bonus, at the time the largest ever given to a quarterback.
Nobody would argue that Goff, aided by an outstanding supporting cast in Detroit, did not deserve to get paid after leading the Lions to the brink of a Super Bowl appearance last season. He was again outstanding in the regular season this year, as the Lions marched to a 15-2 record and the one seed in the NFC.
But after proving unable to make the plays when it mattered as the Lions fell victim to an historic comeback by the 49ers in last season’s NFC Championship Game, Goff endured his worst playoff game since Super Bowl 53 with the Los Angeles Rams as the Lions slumped to a stunning defeat to the Washington Commanders in the Divisional Round.
Goff finished with a passer rating of 59.7 as he threw three crushing interceptions including a pick-six.
Two of those picks came when under pressure. Goff was eight of 18 for 114 yards with a touchdown and his two turnovers when pressured, with his inability to find answers for the rush a defining theme of the game.
The prevailing opinions surrounding Goff and Purdy are similar, with them both seen as starting quarterbacks who are elevated by their supporting cast. Purdy struggled to overcome injuries to his supporting cast this season having shown he can elevate those around him last year, most notably in the 17-point comeback against Detroit.
And it is the contrast between the manner in which Purdy led that fightback and the limitations that held Goff back against Washington that should make the 49ers feel significantly better about paying Purdy a top-10 quarterback contract (Goff’s ranks sixth by APY, per Spotrac).
Goff can throw on the move and make plays outside of the pocket, but his ability to make things happen outside of the structure of the offense is at best open for debate. Detroit’s playoff exit offered yet more evidence to indicate that aspect of the game is a serious weak point for Goff.
Purdy, meanwhile, has proven he has an innate ability to extend plays, to the point where he received criticism for trying to do too much early in the 2024 campaign, and has regularly displayed a prowess for making things happen outside of structure and excelling with his legs, most notably as a series of scrambles fueled the turnaround against Detroit almost a year ago.
This season Purdy had a scramble rate of 8.3 percent that was level with Lamar Jackson. Goff’s was just 2.4 percent. Purdy ranked eighth in rush Expected Points Added among quarterbacks with at least 100 plays, per Sumer Sports, while Goff had a negative EPA of 3.1 as a rusher.
That is not to state definitively that Purdy is a superior quarterback to Goff, but he is a quarterback whose skill set in terms of his mobility is better suited to the modern NFL and offers him crucial additional upside as both a runner and a playmaker.
Purdy and Goff are similar quarterbacks in terms of what they can do physically throwing the ball, but they could hardly be more different in terms of their overall athletic gifts.
Put simply, Purdy has access to the kind of second-reaction plays that are beyond Goff, with that disparity demonstrated by the latter’s struggles as Washington consistently forced the pocket back into his lap.
Purdy wasn’t exactly brilliant under pressure in 2024, posting a passer rating of 78.6 and making as many big-time throws (eight) as turnover-worthy plays in such situations, per Pro Football Focus.
Yet Purdy’s skill set gives him more avenues through which to mitigate the rush. His proclivity for extending and making plays as a scrambler adds an extra dimension to the 49ers’ offense. After Goff floundered trying to create against pressure as the Lions season came to an end, Purdy and his team can feel better about demanding a contract that surpasses his, and the 49ers can feel more comfortable about potentially meeting those demands.