Getting a contract extension done with quarterback Brock Purdy has to be the San Francisco 49ers’ top offseason priority.
Purdy put some pressure on the team during Monday’s locker cleanout when he told reporters he was hoping for a new deal so he could report to OTAs. The implication there is he will holdout until his extension is done.
“I want to obviously get it done,” Purdy said via ESPN’s Nick Wagoner. “If that’s an opportunity to be able to get that done quick, that’d be great. Just so we can get back for Phase One.”
Phase One of the offseason typically begins in the middle of April, which puts San Francisco’s front office on a tight clock.
Purdy didn’t outright say he’d hold out, but when asked if he would attend OTAs without a deal, he didn’t commit to it.
“I’m not really sure as of now,” Purdy said when asked outright if he’d attend OTAs and minicamp per a video from the SF Standard’s David Lombardi. “But like I said before, I want to get back to work as soon as I can with the guys, so hopefully something would get done sooner rather than later.”
Purdy is eligible for an extension now that Week 18 has ended, giving the 49ers a little more than four months to hammer out a deal that won’t be easy to navigate after the QB’s struggles in his third season.
Having a deal done before mid-April would be a pretty stark departure from the norm on these big contracts for the 49ers. They’ve typically used training camp in late July as a soft deadline to get big-money extensions done. Given how long extension talks lasted for defensive end Nick Bosa last season and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk this season, 49ers brass may not be keen on potentially missing their QB for that much time.
Getting a contract done with Purdy soon so the team can move on with its 2025 campaign has to be the priority. It wouldn’t be terrible if he winds up missing some of the offseason program, but they can’t let his holdout bleed into camp where it could start having a dramatic impact on their chances to bounce back in 2025.
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