Joe Montana offers kind (but much-needed) advice to Brock Purdy

Maybe Joe Montana's advice to Brock Purdy can apply to all of us.

San Francisco 49ers former quarterback Joe Montana
San Francisco 49ers former quarterback Joe Montana | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Joe Montana is a fan of Brock Purdy, but the 49ers legend still feels there's an area of Purdy's game that needs to change.

It's understandable why some fans felt San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was the second coming of Hall of Famer Joe Montana over the course of 2023, particularly after the former led the league in nearly every significant passing category and was an MVP finalist.

That said, the 2024 instalment of Purdy was glaringly less-impressive. While not wholly terrible, Purdy looked nothing like the mastermind under center who helped propel the Niners to a Super Bowl berth in his first full season as a starter.

Granted, there were plenty of factors at work in Purdy's regression. San Francisco dealt with a swarm of injuries on offense, particularly with running back Christian McCaffrey and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk missing the majority of the year.

Elite quarterbacks typically overcome these issues by elevating others, though, and it certainly seemed as if Purdy was trying to accomplish this.

Perhaps he went a bit too far, though. And Montana seems to agree.

Joe Montana on Brock Purdy: 'Someone probably needs to settle him down'

Purdy's critics will cite how he couldn't rise above the injuries last season, thereby reinforcing the notion it took elite playmakers to elevate the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft's play.

Granted, Montana had plenty of elite talent in his heyday, so you probably won't hear him use that argument.

But, speaking to the San Francisco Chronicle's Ron Kroichick, Montana cited injuries to fellow teammates as a context for Purdy's regression.

"He's going to be fine," Montana said of Purdy. "He makes great decisions. Someone probably needs to talk to him and settle him down. When you start forcing things, it's hard."

Diving deeper, Montana said he noticed Purdy trying to do too much, particularly in the moments when his usual go-to options weren't available.

"It seemed like Brock was feeling pressure to make plays because of the injuries," Montana went on to describe. "It's hard to see everything on TV, but sometimes I didn't even see receivers in the picture. To me, that's forcing it."

In that sense, Montana is asking Purdy to not try and be the "hero" on offense.

Although Montana certainly cemented himself as such a hero on many an occasion, something 49ers fans won't soon forget.

Hat tip to 49ers Webzone for the find.

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