SANTA CLARA — There were no flashy plays by Brock Purdy and the 49ers' offense in Friday's practice, but that isn't a concern for coach Kyle Shanahan.
Shanahan believes his quarterback is on track to keep improving in his third NFL season.
“I think Brock was better his second year than his first year, and I think he’ll be better his third year than his second year,” Shanahan said after practice. “Just going through camp, we’ve gotten through our seven day installs.
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“I think today was our first practice without new stuff in, and now we start circling back and isolating a little bit more. But Brock takes every day the same and we put him in a bunch of positions and can’t really say enough good things about Brock.”
Purdy had a solid practice connecting with both Deebo Samuel and Chris Conley during 11-on-11 drills, but his favorite target of the day was George Kittle who notched three completions.
The play that stood out the most was when the quarterback found his All-Pro tight end completely open in the flat. Kittle scrambled for 10 yards before a defender was anywhere in the vicinity.
There was much talk outside of team headquarters about Purdy’s seven interceptions over two practices earlier in the week but Shanahan does not believe that is a normal trait of his quarterback.
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“There’s a different story on each play,” Shanahan said. “I know stats are made a big deal in practice and I know that’ll stick out too. We never want a lot of picks in practice, regardless of who it is. But Brock has never really had an interception problem. He’s protected the ball pretty well in this league for his two years and he also isn’t scared to let it rip too.”
Purdy finished his second season completing 308 of his 444 attempts for 4,280 yards and 31 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, which is why Shanahan isn't worried about his quarterback becoming a turnover machine.
“If we were really trying to fix that and if he had a problem, you come out and that’s all we’re focusing on and he still has some stats like that, then that’s something that concerns you,” Shanahan said. “But that’s something I really haven’t been worried about with Brock on, and that’s why those stats are also something that hasn’t bothered me at all.”
The 49ers will have a longer practice session when they reconvene on Saturday where Purdy will have more chances to keep the offense in sync.
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