“I’m not sure about him”: George Kittle makes hilarious admission about Brock Purdy’s leadership

One of the veteran offensive players on the San Francisco 49ers had a little fun at his quarterback’s expense this week.

On Thursday’s edition of the Up and Adams Show, Niners tight end George Kittle discussed Brock Purdy's growth as a vocal leader for the team. Subsequently, the San Fran tight end saw a clip on the monitor of the 2023 Pro Bowl quarterback running the ball into the end zone rather than throwing the ball to a wide-open Kittle.

That prompted Kittle to declare:

You know I’m not so sure about him now, joked the two-time First-team All-Pro.

Kidding aside, Kittle added that despite a tough season for the team, finishing at 6-11, Purdy made significant strides.

We didn’t win all the games that we wanted to win this year, but Brock, I think, played at a really high level. When you look at all of his stats, I think he’s like top 10, top 5 in a lot of those things.

In 2024, the Niners quarterback averaged 8.5 yards per throw and ranked 10th in the regular season for passing yards (3,864) with a 65.9% completion rate.

Purdy speaking up is a huge help to the 49ers’ offense

Starting as a third-stringer in his 2022 rookie campaign, Brock Purdy initially took the starting job essentially by default. After Trey Lance and Jimmy Garroppolo suffered injuries that year, Purdy was thrust into the spotlight. Over his first two campaigns, he did most of his talking on the field, throwing for a career-best 4,280 yards in 2023 with a personal-best 113.0 passer rating.

In his third season, he spoke up a lot more, according to Kittle, who added that if receivers were a little off on their routes, he would let them know.

When the quarterback speaks, guys listen because that’s the rule, said the former Iowa tight end.

Before the 2024 campaign, Kittle mentioned that most of the offensive communication was done by head coach Kyle Shanahan. However, Brock took it upon himself to speak more this past season.

He’s taking leaps and bounds and is only getting better, Kittle concluded.

Purdy has one year left on his rookie contract in San Francisco, with an average annual value of $934,253, according to Spotrac. Based on his performances, many believe he could become one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in football when a new deal is offered to him.