Brock Purdy’s meteoric rise from the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft to an unexpected starter for the San Francisco 49ers has been one of the most intriguing stories in the NFL. However, as Purdy’s contract negotiation looms,

What San Francisco can’t afford to do is ignore the position given what happened at the end of the 2024 season when Purdy took a helmet to the elbow in Week 17 and had to miss the season finale. After nearly two full seasons of healthy QB play it became easy to forget the injury-driven tumult that under center that preceded Purdy.

General manager John Lynch expressed a desire to get both of those contracts done sooner than later, but the 49ers played hardball and ultimately saw them take all of the preseason. He expressed a similar desire with Purdy’s deal in his end-of-season press conference.