SANTA CLARA, Calif. — In all the years that John Lynch worked in broadcasting, there was something he noticed about elite NFL quarterbacks.
The San Francisco 49ers general manager, who spent nine years as an NFL analyst for Fox, went to weekly production meetings with teams, sitting down with QBs like Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers, and he noticed an economy of language. There was a distinct purposefulness of words shared by elite quarterbacks, with each anecdote, proclamation or inflection point presented for a tactical reason. It left Lynch with the consideration that if something was conveyed by a star at the position, there was a distinct motivation behind it.
“Everything they do is intentional,” Lynch said.
The subject came up earlier this week about his quarterback, Brock Purdy, who has begun to uncharacteristically expound on some of this internal dialogue about pursuing greatness as a player. Or more specifically, being dominant, which was the word Purdy reached for in a conversation with the San Francisco Chronicle last week. He wants to be dominant. It was a public declaration that caught some attention inside the 49ers’ headquarters because it has never really been Purdy’s style to overtly use a word like that to describe what he wants to be. And yet, there he was, using a distinct intentionality that struck a chord of familiarity in his general manager.
“I think [that was] an example,” Lynch said. “That’s not Brock’s personality. Maybe it is on the field. Like people would always say ‘there’s two John Lynch’s’ — the chill nice guy, and then the guy on the field. Brock’s got a little bit of that. But he’s very intentional with everything he does. Not to say that he does things for effect, but he’s trying to set a standard for this building, for this organization. He’s a leader. Leaders make people around them better. He’s not saying that without believing it.”
Lynch smiled at the messaging.
“Speak things into existence,” he said. “I’m a big believer in that.”
It’s an important conversation when it comes to Purdy, who is entering his third — and arguably most pivotal season — as the 49ers’ starter. Starting with a training camp that has featured his left tackle, Trent Williams, holding out and completely absent from practice. It’s a negotiating bookend to wideout Brandon Aiyuk, who is present for San Francisco’s practices, but only in spirit as he continues a “hold in” for a new deal.
Those realities have shuffled the deck for the franchise early on, with younger players getting unexpected starting reps and veterans left to cover some of the leadership gaps. One of which is Purdy, who in Year 3 finds himself stepping into the organic quarterback progression of becoming the 49ers’ superstar centerpiece — the star among many stars.
Maybe it’s appropriate that in the midst of that elevation, Purdy took it upon himself to intentionally announce where he wants to go as a player, not-so-subtly bucking back against the “system quarterback” slights that have followed his every accomplishment. Of course, he’s not going to say that he wants to push against the backhanded label. Instead, the proclamation of goals is presented as an exercise in leadership — more a matter of wanting people inside the building to know what he’s working for, rather than changing people’s minds outside of it.
“The most important thing is, this organization, my teammates, my coaches and people here, that they hear it,” Purdy said. “For the whole world to hear it, that is what it is. Because the world’s going to say this or that about you. But for me, the people that I go to war with in this organization, I think for them to hear me say my goals and my expectations and what my standard is, I think that is important.”
When Purdy says this, you can sense some of the stability that’s finally settling into his career. For the first time, he had a normal football offseason, not having to worry about onboarding as a third-string rookie (which was his Year 1 experience) or rehabbing an elbow surgery (Year 2) as those around him white-knuckled about whether he’d ever be the same. No, Year 3 was significantly different, with Purdy having an entire offseason in the 49ers’ passing program, as well as the full slate of organized team activities and minicamp. All accentuated by training he did in Florida, adding strength and weight to his core and lower body while fine-tuning his arm mechanics.
If you were to ask what has the franchise excited about Purdy taking a major stride in 2024, it’s those developments. That and learning how to lead through messaging, too. He did some of the things he believes can help make him into a great player. And he announced his pursuit of that greatness.
How it all manifests is another conversation that will play out in the coming months. But watching him this week in practice has offered clues. On Tuesday, he pushed the envelope in practice, making some hyper-aggressive throws into tight coverages while testing out some of the added zip on his ball. The results were predictably uneven, with a superb and unblemished first half, followed by a second half that saw him throw four interceptions.
In previous years, Purdy might have fretted about the results costing him his job. Now? He sees it as the cost of doing business in training camp as he tests out the limits of his arm — not to mention the limits of risks he can take with certain teammates, all meant to flesh out his filing cabinet of “KYP,” which stands for “know your personnel” but really means “know what you can accomplish and who you can accomplish it with.”
“Right now is the time to see if things work or not,” Purdy said of the interceptions. “The minute we get into the season, the ball becomes everything. You’ve got to protect it. You’ve got to be smart with it. There’s some throws that you know you shouldn’t make and some throws you know you can. But how do you know you can if you’ve never tried it?”
“For me, at practice, I’m trying things here and there at the right moment and the right time,” he continued. “Sometimes I learn the hard way. OK, I threw a pick in front of everybody, but [now I know] that doesn’t work. The next time I get in that situation, I’ve got to be smart or I’ve got to move my eyes in certain ways. There’s a bunch of things that go into it. But you’ve got to learn somewhere. … Right now are those times to take those shots and those opportunities to see if we can make it work or not.”
All in the pursuit of greatness, which Purdy sees through the distinct prism of being great all the time — not just finishing a season and winning a championship.
“[Greatness is] somebody that knows who they are,” Purdy said. “They don’t waver from what the world tells them [about] who they are. … Yes, they’ve won championships and all that stuff, which is great. But in regular-season games, early on, they’re making the right reads. They’re checking the ball down. They’re staying on the field. They’re being dominant in that regard — actually staying on the field, making the right decisions over and over and over, from Week 1 to Week 18.”
That’s the journey Purdy is on. Through actions and declarations. And as Year 3 approaches, it’s not going unnoticed inside the organization.
