Brock Purdy may play football like a veteran, but he’s only 23 years old and just finished his second career training camp. He’s still learning important lessons about life in the NFL.
The 49ers trading quarterback Trey Lance to the Dallas Cowboys on Friday is another look at the brutal side of the league’s business. Lance was selected as the No. 3 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft to be the franchise’s answer under center for the next decade-plus, only to start four games in two years and be sent out of town.
It didn’t work for Lance at the Bay. NFL teams don’t exactly practice patience.
“It’s different just to show you, you’re in the NFL, the positions and how everything looks, the depth chart, it can all change overnight, obviously depending on what happens and situations and so on,” Purdy said Friday night. after the 49ers’ preseason finale against the Los Angeles Chargers.
“But for me, it’s like how can I be present? How can I be where I am? [on the depth chart], whatever.’ The more you think about that kind of stuff, the more it will hurt you and affect how you play. “
Purdy has been rolling with the punches since being selected with the final pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. He impressed the 49ers’ front office last summer to surprisingly make the 53-man roster out of training camp. Two injuries later, Purdy led the 49ers to an eight-game winning streak and an NFC Championship Game appearance.
“At the end of the day, I’m just trying to do my job, do what I’m told as a quarterback,” Purdy said Friday. try to beat this guy, this guy. Nothing to do with that. It has to do with what I’m called to do in life as a quarterback.
“I go in, do my job, and some situations happen [Garoppolo] got hurt, Trey got hurt, and that’s the way things are. But at the same time, like what the NFL is. And so there are no hard feelings. I love Trey, and I want nothing but the best for him.
It’s Purdy’s level-headed approach that has won the trust of general manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan. He was surprised when the 49ers traded Lance on Friday night, but embraced the news and shared a moment with his former teammate in the locker room before the preseason game.
A few hours later, Purdy turned San Francisco’s offense on two drives, throwing for 73 yards on 5-of-9 passing. The 49ers would have scored on the first drive, but running back JP Mason fumbled in the end zone. Purdy took matters into his own hands on the second drive and waltzed to the goal line for a five-yard scramble.
The NFL train keeps rolling. You better hang on.
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