Brock Purdy is finally experiencing a true offseason as a starting NFL quarterback.
Last year, the San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback was dealing with an elbow injury that kept him on the sideline until training camp. Two years ago, as a seventh-round rookie, he was buried on the depth chart behind Trey Lance, Jimmy Garoppolo and even Nate Sudfeld, getting precious few reps.
This year, he’s healthy and able to participate fully in the offseason workout program. Purdy believes the increased workload he can shoulder will help him hit the ground running early in the season.
During a 49ers’ State of the Franchise event on Monday, Purdy said the ability to fully participate as the starter has helped cleanse the disappointment from last year’s Super Bowl failure.
“We got all the way to the end. We’re right there and weren’t able to finish it,” Purdy said, via 49ers Webzone. “So for me, I had that taste in my mouth, and then get back into the gym, start slowly, working into it. And then here, in OTAs, getting with (head coach) Kyle (Shanahan) and going over all the games that we played in, every play, and going over situational football and stuff, and taking that and actually going out on the field and running things and repping things, and throwing to the receivers.
“Last year, I didn’t have that, so now that I’m able to attack those kinds of things, I feel like I’ve gotten better.”
The next time we see Purdy and his teammates is in July for training camp, where Shanahan’s club will attempt to wash away its latest playoff defeat. Purdy having an entire offseason of work under his belt could help jumpstart the process of returning to the Super Bowl.