The San Francisco 49ers are looking towards a bounce-back season behind quarterback Brock Purdy. NFL great Joe Montana recently shared his thoughts about the team’s field general.
Montana, 69, led the team to four Super Bowl wins during his legendary football career, going a perfect 4-0 in the championship game.
Purdy, 25, still has what should be a solid career ahead of him. In just three seasons with the 49ers, he’s led them to the Super Bowl, albeit a losing effort.
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After starting just five games in 2022, Purdy’s 2023 season included him becoming the full-time starter, earning a first-time Pro Bowl selection, and being the league’s top passing rater.
After a 12-5 record that season, the team suffered a disappointing 6-11 record in 2024 amid injuries and ultimately watched the playoffs from home.
During that losing season, Purdy experienced his lowest passer rating, threw his most interceptions, and got sacked the most times in his young career. It had many people wondering if he would continue regressing or bounce back.
Despite the disappointing 2024 season and stats, Montana predicted that the team’s signal caller would be “fine” moving forward.
The all-time great spoke on Pat McAfee’s show recently and responded to McAfee asking if he liked Purdy as the quarterback.
“I really like him. He usually doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, and you know, he’s careful with the football. He’s got great placement of it. I just think he’s got the right demeanor,” the NFL legend said, praising Purdy.
“Everybody has those kinds of years. I had them, Brady had them, everybody. Injuries start taking place, your whole team changes, and then the quarterback, it seems sometimes, it rides all on their back,” Montana said, adding that quarterbacks “start doing things they wouldn’t normally do.”
The all-time great quarterback spent 14 seasons with the 49ers and two with the Kansas City Chiefs en route to impressive stats and team records. After 1982’s strike-shortened campaign, the Pro Football Hall of Famer didn’t experience any losing seasons in his career.
The two-time NFL MVP and eight-time Pro Bowler, Montana suffered a late setback in his career in 1991 when he was sidelined for the season due to injury. He bounced back to lead the team to a 14-2 record in 1992, and they nearly reached the Super Bowl again.
Purdy and the latest iteration of the 49ers get a fresh start as their season begins on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks.
That could provide an early test as Seattle went 10-7 last season and finished second in the NFC West. The Seahawks also feature former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold, whom they signed to a three-year deal.
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