SANTA CLARA — There’s a school of thought that the next part of the evolution of Brock Purdy includes more of a gunslinger mentality.
Push the ball downfield. Create big plays with his legs as well as his arm.
And while it’s true Purdy aspires to do those things on occasion, the takeaway Wednesday from the 49ers’ first day of training camp is that it’s the same old Brock.
A product of the system, if you will. And he’s fine with that, the system quarterback label be damned.
Purdy was an unknown rookie and then spent his second training camp in a race to get his elbow ready for the season after a torn UCL in the NFC Championship Game. This time, Purdy can gamble a little, take some chances, see what works and what doesn’t.
“I think there’s a balance to that,” Purdy said Wednesday. “That is how we have success here as 49ers quarterbacks, being efficient, making the right decisions over and over again. Trying to be a superhero and make all these different kinds of throws, that’s not how we’re coached. It’s not how we win games here.
“We’re going to practice how we play and how we try to win.”
Minus a hold-in (Brandon Aiyuk) and a hold-out (Trent Williams), Purdy and the 49ers got down to business with a two-hour non-padded practice to kick off the 2024 training camp.
The 49ers had yet to get an evaluation from coach Kyle Shanahan, but Purdy seemed to give his team a passing grade in terms of a start.
“There’s still some rust. We can all feel it,” Purdy said. “Timing and routes with receivers, play calls getting in and out of the huddle. For a Day 1, I didn’t think it was too bad.”
Besides getting married in the offseason, Purdy had his first legitimate offseason where he wasn’t preparing for a combine or rehabbing a serious injury. At 6-foot-1 and 220 pounds, Purdy worked on his lower body and core as well as refining his throwing motion. He feels he’s got some added zip on his passes.
“There’s a guy that comes in and does the 3D motion-capture stuff and we honed in on my mechanics and tried to apply it to my on-field training and my hips and everything that goes into it, Purdy said. “I was in Jacksonville for a month and we were able to chip away from some things, whereas last year it was a couple of weeks and about my elbow rehab.”
Purdy’s busy time away from the facility — which included getting married — was no surprise to Shanahan.
“Brock works really hard in the offseason,” Shanahan said. “We always joke about his baby Bosa legs. He builds those up, gets his strength. The work ethic he has is mental and physical and he continues to get better.”
Offensive play of the day
It wasn’t one of Purdy’s prettiest passes, but a rollout wobbler to tight end Eric Saubert, a former fifth-round draft pick signed as a free agent who hopes to fill a role with the departures of Charlie Woerner and Ross Dwelley.
Saubert came down with the ball under tight defense from linebacker De’Vondre Campbell Sr.
“He came in for OTAs, started throwing to him and learning how he moves and how he sees things,” Purdy said. “He made a great play today, so that’s something we’re going to build off of and get after together.”
Defensive play of the day
Rookie fourth-round draft pick Malik Mustapha came in with the reputation as a potential in-the-box safety and a hitter, but picked off a Joshua Dobbs pass thrown well downfield on a throw intended for Danny Gray.
“That was awesome, because I saw Danny got the corner so I thought he was going to win on the go route and the middle-third safety picked it off with ease,” Shanahan said. “He showed his range there.”
Deebo Samuel, wearing No. 1 for the first time in his NFL career, runs through drills with teammates at training camp.
Guerendo first camp casualty
Running back Isaac Guerendo, a fourth-round draft pick out of Louisville, took a pitch and ran around right end before stumbling and eventually hitting the ground. He limped off the field toward the end zone in emotional distress where he was met by other running backs, including Christian McCaffrey.
“We think it was a hamstring,” Shanahan said. “It looked like he hyperextended a little bit. He was going about half speed it looked like. It was an unusual one . . . we’ve got to get an MRI.”
Maintaining a veteran schedule
McCaffrey didn’t take any offensive reps in 7-on-7 or full-team drills, leaving the carries to Elijah Mitchell, Jordan Mason and Kamon Hall. It’s all part of the plan for selected veterans, according to Shanahan.
“He did individual (drills) and tomorrow I think he does team stuff,” Shanahan said. “A number of our players are like that. He has a whole thing mapped out each day.”
Tight end George Kittle (shoulder, core) practiced and caught passes, and center Jake Brendel (knee) also practiced as well as cornerback Charvarius Ward (core). Both will be among those monitored throughout camp.
Looking out for No. 1
Deebo Samuel made his presence felt in Aiyuk’s absence. While Purdy missed him on one play, the two later connected on a deeper pass down the left side. It is Samuel’s first training camp wearing No. 1 instead of his familiar No. 19.
“I think Deebo looks great,” Shanahan said. “I thought he looked great during OTAs and minicamp and I thought he looked better today.
Keeping an eye on Dee Winters
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Dee Winters, a sixth-round pick out of TCU in 2023, was a standout in OTAs according to teammate Fred Warner and could work his way into some playing time with a strong training camp with Dre Greenlaw potentially out early in the season until his torn Achilles’ has healed.
With Greenlaw out for OTAs and Warner watching from the sideline, Winters took full advantage.
“He was ready for those reps,” Shanahan said. “When you go through your rookie year sometimes things click for guys and being behind guys like Dre and Fred and watching how they work, he’s kind of cloned himself after those guys in terms of work ethic and being dialed in.”
Miscellaneous
Brandon Allen and Dobbs split reps, with Allen looking to have the edge in terms of being comfortable in the system.
Mason, primarily a ball-carrying back, looked solid in the passing game although he was stripped on one play by cornerback Rock Ya-Sin.
Trent Taylor, Ronnie Bell and rookie Jacob Cowser were fielding punts from Mitch Wishnowsky and the Jugs machine. Cowser mishandled one punt.
Defensive linemen were twice whistled early on for offsides penalties.
Wide receiver Jauan Jennings lost a fumble but had an otherwise solid practice in the absence of Aiyuk and rookie first-round pick Ricky Pearsall Jr., who is on the non-football injury list with a hamstring strain.