Shanahan explains crowning 49ers QB Purdy ‘the real deal'
Shanahan explains crowning 49ers QB Purdy ‘the real deal' originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
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There's no doubt in Kyle Shanahan's mind that 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy has what it takes to succeed in the NFL.
In his words, the former seventh-round pick is "the real deal."
Shanahan sat down with Greg Papa on NBC Sports Bay Area's "49ers Game Plan," where he explained why he offered such high praise for Purdy during training camp after the 23-year-old took over as QB1 for eight games in 2022 before suffering a torn UCL in his throwing elbow in the 49ers' NFC Championship Game loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
"Just answering a question in the media, and I guess it sounds like a big statement," Shanahan told Papa. "The 'real deal' means people would ask me questions about how do we know all this stuff. There was six games of film on him, you just gotta watch. And it wasn't that he just got lucky in those games, he played at an extremely high level and that's how he is in practice every day.
"So we had a feeling in practice, but you never know until they get in NFL games. There were two bad injuries to our quarterbacks, and he got that opportunity to get into real games and all he did was do it every single game versus very good competition."
Despite only playing in a handful of games last season, Shanahan believes Purdy did enough to earn the NFL's respect.
"He did it and got us into the playoffs, he did it in the spur of the moment in the middle of the game, he did it in playoff games, did it at home, did it on the road," Shanahan explained. "I don't know what else people want. You gotta prove yourself every week in this league, it's what are you doing right now, not what you've done in the past. Brock played at a high level last year, we wanted to get him healthy, he's done it in Week 1 and hopefully we can keep that going."
After undergoing surgery to repair his UCL on March 10, Purdy returned to 49ers practice exactly six months later and didn't appear to miss a step.
The second-year quarterback then picked up right where he left off in the 49ers' 30-7 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1 and is starting to turn heads yet again.
Shanahan, of course, is the least bit surprised.
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