York recalls heartwarming first interaction with Purdy's family

York recalls heartwarming first interaction with Purdy's family originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

If there's one thing to know about 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, it's that his family always will be right by his side.

Long before his rise to stardom, Purdy was buried on San Francisco's depth chart in the summer leading up to his rookie 2022 season and viewed, at least outside the building, as nothing more than a late-round flier the 49ers selected with the No. 262 and final pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Despite how unlikely it was that Purdy would have any sort of meaningful role with the 49ers, his parents made it a point to familiarize themselves with the organization his son temporarily would --- or so many thought --- call home.

In speaking to reporters on Thursday, 49ers CEO Jed York recalled a heartwarming story about his first interaction with Purdy's parents before his rookie 2022 season.

"We have our opening event usually in preseason to have players' families come in," York recalled. "I make sure every year to talk to them and give them a sense of who the 49ers are and sort of what the organization is. So I walk in, and it was upstairs in this building, and two people are sitting there writing down notes, like so intent on what's going on and I'm like 'Whose parents are those?' and (I'm told) 'Oh those are Brock Purdy's parents.'

"In my mind, I'm like 'All right we invested three first-round picks in another quarterback, we have a quarterback who had taken us to a Super Bowl we're paying $20 million a year, this is interesting these people are this intent on writing down every piece of information and taking this as seriously as possible, it's going to be interesting to see how this plays out.'"

Despite the initial outside perception their son might not be long for a role with the 49ers given his unclear path to relevance, Purdy's parents made it a point to learn everything they could about the organization that night, paying very close attention to what they were told in their interactions with team personnel.

Not long after that event is when 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan had an uncomfortable conversation with York where he conveyed his admiration for Purdy, shockingly declaring him San Francisco's best option at quarterback over incumbent Jimmy Garoppolo and former No. 3 overall draft pick Trey Lance.

"And a week later is when Kyle and I had the conversation," York said.

In two seasons with the 49ers, Purdy has made a name for himself as one of the more sound, meticulous, hardest-working quarterbacks in the league. And there's no doubt about where he got it from.

"I think that's the fun thing about Brock is he's a little over a year into his NFL career, he's a wonderful young man, he works his tail off, it means the world to him and it means the world to his family," York added.

Just like a parent at their child's Back-to-School night, Purdy's mother and father were eager to get a peak behind the curtain of where their son would be spending the majority of his time for the foreseeable future.

And it's safe to say Purdy's future with the 49ers should last a long, long time.

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