Brock Purdy (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

An NFL writer has proposed a fascinating scenario that would see the San Francisco 49ers move on from quarterback Brock Purdy and replace him with a veteran Pro Bowler.

Last year, a long-term contract extension felt inevitable for Brock Purdy. But one year after nearly leading his team to a Super Bowl 58 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, Purdy regressed in his third NFL season.

In 15 games, Purdy went 6-9-0 and completed 65.9 percent of pass attempts for 3,864 yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. It was a far drop-off in production from 2023, where Purdy tossed 31 touchdowns against 11 picks.

Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport recently analyzed the best landing spot for Minnesota Vikings quarterback and pending free agent Sam Darnold, who served as Purdy’s backup during the 2023 season.

Davenport made a compelling case for the 49ers to replace Purdy with Darnold:
“Some of the shine came off Purdy in 2024 as well. Sure, injuries played a part, but Darnold outplayed Purdy last year in just about every statistical category. Darnold will want a fat raise, but his annual salary will be more in the Baker Mayfield range than Kyler Murray.
Darnold knows the system in San Francisco from his short stint there. Trade offers from QB-needy teams for Purdy would be robust. And it’s not like we haven’t seen the Niners make an aggressive move at quarterback before.

If the Niners are going to keep their Super Bowl window open as contracts like Purdy’s come due, they’re going to have to be creative.”

Darnold appeared in 10 games (one start) during the 2023 season, completing 28 of 46 pass attempts for 297 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell comes from the Sean McVay coaching tree, and the latter worked with 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco.

There’s no indicator that the 49ers want to move on from Brock Purdy, but Darnold would definitely be a good replacement if Shanahan and GM John Lynch wanted to make a change at the game’s most important position.

49ers Don’t Have To Make A Decision On Brock Purdy Yet

The 2025 season will be the final year of Purdy’s rookie contract, so by no means are the 49ers in a rush to figure out this situation. They can let him play out his rookie deal, and then place the franchise tag on Purdy next year if they don’t want to lose him in free agency.

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