Kyle Shanahan’s cruel joke on Brock Purdy as a rookie 

The San Francisco 49ers are looking to make history by becoming the first team ever to win a Super Bowl led by a quarterback that was at one time given the label “Mr. Irrelevant.” Brock Purdy’s the man in the Bay these days but it wasn’t always like that.

Purdy darn good

The Niners have gone all in on the last pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, giving Purdy a blockbuster deal that puts him among the hightest paid players ever. Against all odds, the 262nd pick of that draft didn’t just make the roster after getting picked up by San Fran in the 7th round. He made the starting job his own. It didn’t take long for Purdy to establish himself as the starter in San Fran, but before he ever took a regular season snap he was just worried about making the team.

Trey Lance was the original starting quarterback in Brock’s rookie season. He was drafted with the No. 3 overall pick the year before and he was the QB of the future. Lance went down with an injury in Week 2, a few months later, Jimmy Garoppolo went down with a foot injury and it was time for Mr. Irrelevant to show what he was made of.

Talking to the Bussin With the Boys podcast, Purdy recapped his rookie year training camp and preseason. “They never really said much, but I was like they got to be thinking something,” after the soon to be fourth year QB said he was ripping the ball into tight windows rep after rep.

Shanahan’ got jokes

“You still have to go through another practice, and then finish camp strong. Play well in the preseason games, and then when the roster comes down to it you find out,” continued Purdy who said he had no idea because the coaches didn’t give a whole lot of feed back after practices.

Then came the day of reckoning. Purdy was in the QB room one day after practice as the roster was starting to get trimmed down, and there it was. Coach Shanahan pulls him out of the meeting, and said “Hey Brock, can you grab your stuff and come talk to me?” Purdy, who was on edge got up before his coach told him to sit back down, because he had made the team.

You could say the Niners made the right call considering that in the first three years in the Purdy era, they have made a Super Bowl and gone to the NFC Championship twice. Purdy got signed for a five year, $265 million extension this offseason. Now the new big money QB in San Fran is going to have to lead his team to a rebound season after finishing an injury filled 2024 6-11.