It’s going to take a bounce-back season for San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy in 2026 to earn a place among the NFL elite.
Purdy couldn’t crack ESPN’s annual position rankings, where he was placed in the “honorable mention” category as voted on by the league’s executives, coaches, and scouts.
In 4 seasons as the 49ers’ starter, Purdy has led his team to the playoffs 3 times, including coming a hair’s breadth from winning the Super Bowl following the 2023 season, but he missed 8 games due to injuries in 2025.
While Purdy has made the playoffs in 3 of his 1st 4 seasons, including winning a playoff game in 2025, 4 quarterbacks who didnât even make the playoffs last season were ranked ahead of him: Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (No. 2), Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (No. 4), Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (No. 5), and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (No. 6).
“He has got two superpowers,” one anonymous NFC executive told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. “Layering the ball and short-area quickness to stay alive. He’s elite in those two areas.”
Don’t feel too bad for Purdy â he has a mountain of money to comfort him after signing a 5-year, $265 million contract extension with the 49ers in May 2025.
Brock Purdy Not Only 1 Dealing With Injuries
The 49ers were hit hard by injuries in 2025, and how those players bounce back, including Purdy, will determine their trajectory in 2026.
Perhaps leading the way in terms of Purdy’s success or failure will be the return of NFL All-Pro tight end George Kittle from a torn Achilles tendon.
Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon wrote Kittle’s injury could âdeeply impact how the upcoming season plays outâ â and he couldnât be more right.
âSan Francisco really needs a healthy season â something it seemingly has never experienced in franchise history,â Gagnon wrote on July 1. âKittleâs presence is critical for that offense, as heâs Brock Purdyâs experienced and reliable safety valve.”
Kittle signed a 4-year, $76.4 million contract extension in April 2025, and it remains the biggest contract signed by a tight end in NFL history. The 49ers are working with a manageable cap hit of $14.1 million for Kittle in 2026, but thatâs still a lot of money to pay someone who they don’t even know when he’ll be back in the lineup.
Backup tight end Jake Tonges showed he was somewhat competent in 2025 with career highs of 34 receptions for 293 yards and 5 touchdowns and signed a 2-year, $8 million contract extension this offseason.
49ers Still Have Uncertainty at Wide Receiver
The 49ers brought in a pair of new wide receivers this offseason to try and balance out the uncertainty that’s dogged the position in recent years.
That uncertainty pertains to 2024 1st-round pick Ricky Pearsall, who seems like a bust, and former NFL All-Pro Brandon Aiyuk, who received a 4-year, $120 million contract before the 2024 season and played in 7 games before he suffered a devastating knee injury.
Aiyuk hasn’t played since, cutting off communication with the team early in the 2025 season â since which he has been engaged in a long-running social media battle to get released or traded.
That’s why the 49ers went big in free agency and the draft, signing veteran wide receiver and former NFL All-Pro Mike Evans to a 3-year, $42 million contract and drafting Ole Miss wide receiver De’Zhuan Stribling in the 2nd round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
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