The legend of Brock Purdy began against the Miami Dolphins in Week 13 after Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a season-ending broken foot injury.
However, while hindsight is 20/20, there was a lot of unknown regarding the Iowa State product when he entered that Dec. 4 game at Levi's Stadium. San Francisco receiver Brandon Aiyuk joined TheSFNiners YouTube channel on Friday, where he gave his initial thoughts on Purdy taking over as the quarterback.
"I'm on the sideline talking to Kyle about this and that, talking to [wide receivers coach Leonard Hankerson] about this and that. So I don't even know what's going on with Jimmy," Aiyuk said. "So we're talking about it. We go back out there, and you hear, 'In at quarterback No. 13, Brock Purdy.' And I'm like, 'Where Jimmy at? What's going on?' And they're like, 'Oh, Jimmy is just in the tent and getting checked out.' So we're expecting it. Alright, maybe we'll have to rock with him for this series, but maybe after this, Jimmy [will] be back. That's what I kind of felt ...
"So at this point, 'We're like, OK, we got to go.' And then just as we're playing, we're like, oh, as we keep this dude, he got something to him. He's playing, he's playing ball. We move on. We're rocking with him. We got to go. And that's what we do. And he plays a good game ... We got to go out and leave there with the win and then from there on, Brock Purdy was born. But [at] that time, it was a little bit it was crazy. It was different as a receiver. You're like, 'Oh, man,' you're like, 'Ah s--t' ... Anybody [tied] to the team felt the same way."
Nonetheless, while Aiyuk had concerns about Mr. Irrelevant, those quickly changed with how the rookie quarterback performed in his first few games as a starter.
"[Purdy] gave me just the confidence that he gave me in, like, probably maybe after Miami, I'm like, 'OK,' after Tampa Bay, 'I have no doubt, OK,' " Aiyuk continued. "We're just fine. We're back to business. This dude, that's a different dude."
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The 23-year-old guided the 49ers to the 2023 NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles. But, unfortunately for Purdy, his chance to take San Francisco to Super Bowl LVII ended on his first drive when he suffered a torn UCL in his right elbow.
Now Purdy will attempt rehab and likely find himself in a quarterback battle with Trey Lance, who is returning from a broken ankle that ended his 2022 season. It will be interesting to see if Purdy can rekindle his magic and earn the 49ers' starting QB job in 2023.