49ers' 5 best candidates to earn first Pro Bowl nod in 2023
By Peter Panacy
49ers Pro Bowl candidate No. 3: Brock Purdy
Alright, well, we have to look at a Niners quarterback making the Pro Bowl, don't we? If anything, San Francisco is due for one. The last quarterback to make the NFL's all-star game while donning the red and gold was Jeff Garcia back in 2002.
Yes, over 20 years ago.
OK, second-year pro Brock Purdy has a lot to prove after rising up from being the final pick in the 2022 NFL Draft to winning the final five regular-season games as the 49ers' QB3 to open up the season, ultimately taking his squad to the NFC Championship game but suffering a torn UCL in his throwing elbow during that loss, an injury that required offseason elbow surgery that could jeopardize his availability for the 2023 regular-season opener.
Get all that? Good. It's a story Hollywood wouldn't take if it wasn't true (but it is).
What they would take, though, is the underdog tale. And voting fans love that, too.
If there's a shortage of NFC quarterbacks making the Pro Bowl this season, and Purdy proves that last year's surprising run wasn't a fluke, he could easily be partaking in first-time Pro Bowler festivities.