There haven’t been many stories like Brock Purdy’s 2022 season. The 49ers rookie entered the year as a third-string quarterback after being selected in the seventh round of the NFL draft and by season’s end, he was leading the team in the NFC championship.
Purdy burst onto the season after both Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo went down with injuries and went on to win every game he played in before the loss to the Eagles, finishing with a 7–1 record as a starter including the playoffs. But before that, coach Kyle Shanahan shared when he knew Purdy could be the franchise’s starter in 2023.
Unknown to anyone at the time, Purdy suffered a broken rib while playing against Buccaneers on Dec. 11 and going into the next game against the Seahawks, it became clear that Purdy was in some serious pain while warming up ahead of the game and Shanahan started to scramble.
“Brock goes to throw a ball and it’s, ‘Oh, s---!’” Shanahan told The Athletic. “And then we go into the locker room where we have 15 minutes. I start looking at my openers. And no one’s around, and I start changing the plays. Because I realize that Brock’s not going to be able to do it.”
But despite the significant pain, Purdy gutted it out and went on to throw for 217 yards and two touchdowns in the 21–13 divisional win. Shanahan told The Athletic that the performance told him he could lead San Francisco in the playoffs, but when he sat down in February and rewatched all of Purdy’s starts, he was convinced he had his quarterback for 2023.
