The San Francisco 49ers had a clear agenda this offseason. After overhauling almost the entire roster through various trades, their real move of the summer came when they gave the former Mr. Irrelevant, Brock Purdy, a massive payday.
Unfortunately, as with most things surrounding Purdy, the decision sparked intense debate, with a lot of fans and media members criticizing the move from the 49ers. However, the veterans on the team, led by tight end George Kittle, are firmly on their quarterback’s side, with Kittle even offering arguments for why the deal makes sense.
49ers’ George Kittle Sides With Brock Purdy
San Francisco opened free agency by parting ways with franchise veterans like Deebo Samuel, Talanoa Hufanga, Aaron Banks, Charvarius Ward, Dre Greenlaw, and Javon Hargrave. Their direction became clear once the extensions started rolling in.
Fred Warner and Kittle got massive paydays, to the tune of $63 million and $76.4 million over three and four years, respectively. But the biggest news of the summer came when Purdy agreed to a five-year extension worth $265 million.
It made his annual average salary a startling $53 million, the seventh-highest mark in the league. The move did not go over well with the larger NFL fanbase, who cited the number of weapons the former last pick in the draft had as a reason for his success.
Additionally, critics point to the team’s struggles last season when multiple playmakers were out due to injury. Though a quarterback can’t win games all by himself, critics argue that Purdy didn’t do anything to lift his team to limit the impact of the injuries.
However, during an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, Kittle presented a different perspective.
George Kittle on the haters calling Brock Purdy a checkdown merchant:
“One of my favorite things about Purdy is that everyone calls him a checkdown merchant, and then the last two years he has the least amount of checkdowns in the NFL.”pic.twitter.com/2AEsARfHql
— Coach Yac 🗣 (@Coach_Yac) June 16, 2025
“I don’t know what his winning percentage is, but when you win a lot of games and then two years you go to the NFC championship or better, I think that’s decent,” said Kittle.
He later talked about the “checkdown merchant” narrative that surrounds Purdy.
“One of my favorite things about Purdy is that everyone calls him the checkdown merchant, and then the last two years, he’s had the least amount of checkdowns in the NFL as a starting quarterback. So I think he’s doing pretty well,” Kittle added.
His arguments are sound and reasonable. In each of the last two seasons, the first two in which Purdy was a starter for the entire season, he ranks in the top three of yards per attempt. Last year, even though San Francisco struggled as a team, he didn’t have a half-bad season.
In fact, on PFSN’s QB+ metric, he finished the year ranked seventh. The presence of an offensive mastermind like Kyle Shanahan as the head coach certainly helps matters.
The 2025 season could offer a glimpse into the future of the 49ers. With the roster upheaval and Purdy’s extension, his supporting cast this coming season should be a microcosm of the future.
Now, it’s up to a former MVP candidate to prove the doubters wrong.