Brock Purdy’s meteoric rise from the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft to an unexpected starter for the San Francisco 49ers has been one of the most intriguing stories in the NFL. However, as Purdy’s contract negotiation looms,

The 25-year-old is finally due an improvement on his San Francisco 49ers salary but his teammates may prevent him from earning top dollar.

What San Francisco can’t afford to do is ignore the position given what happened at the end of the 2024 season when Purdy took a helmet to the elbow in Week 17 and had to miss the season finale. After nearly two full seasons of healthy QB play it became easy to forget the injury-driven tumult that under center that preceded Purdy.