The 49ers have been one of Aaron Rodgers’s biggest rivals in his NFL career, but that didn’t stop him from praising San Francisco’s quarterback Brock Purdy after his stellar performance against the Cardinals on Sunday.
The second-year player completed 20-of-21 passes for 283 yards and one touchdown in the team’s 35–16 win. Although Rodgers didn’t watch the game, as he was on his way to Sunday night’s Jets game in New York, the four-time NFL MVP still admitted he’s been impressed with what he’s seen from Purdy thus far.
He also doesn’t think Purdy’s performances are fully dependent on the play-calling of 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan or the offensive stars on the team.
“I’m a fan for sure, I think he’s doing some great things,” Rodgers said on the Pat McAfee Show Tuesday. “I think people always have to have some sort of caveat, like Kyle’s such a good play caller and he’s got CMC and Deebo and Kittle and all these guys. At some point, I think some of that’s going to die down, they’re going to realize that Brock’s a pretty decent player. ... I got nothing but praise for Brock and respect the way he’s played.”
"I'm a big fan of Brock Purdy and he's doing great things..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 3, 2023
He's a pretty damn good player and he's making high level throws" ~ @AaronRodgers12 #PMSLive #FTTB pic.twitter.com/JrNqvzUVpr
Purdy has now won all the nine regular season games he’s started in, dating back to last season. Heading into Week 5, only the 49ers and the Eagles remain as the two undefeated NFL teams left this season with 4–0 records.