QB Brock Purdy Press Conference

QB Brock Purdy

Press Conference – September 17, 2026

San Francisco 49ers

I see you got your hat. How do you feel about this ensemble?

“Any Hawkeye logo looks ugly to me. So, yeah, it sucks.”

Were you able to watch the game at all?

“Yeah. I watched it. It was tough at the end. I thought the boys played hard. [Iowa State head coach] Jimmy Rogers is doing a really good job over there, taking over the program and everything. But obviously at the end of the day, they couldn’t pull it off and it sucks. We lost.”

Of all the punishments you’ve had, where does this one rank?

“The headgear sucked. Walking in with that, that was rough. But I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t think this is that bad compared to, what [TE] George [Kittle] has done, the overalls and the cowboy hat walking into a game, him wearing my helmet. I feel like I’ve come up with the good ideas. So hopefully we get a little bit more spicy as the years come.”

You started the last game by looking at George’s way a lot in that first quarter. Just what does it mean to have him back on the field as a receiving target, but then as the game went on, helping in the run game as a blocker?

“Yeah, we’ve said this year after year. He’s extremely explosive with our pass game and getting him the ball. And it’s a priority for us in our offense to do that. He can obviously break tackles, get open. He’s very physical at the catch and after. But in the run game he’s very selfless. A lot of us look up to him and feed off what he does in terms of blocking for guys, creating gaps and holes for our running backs. So, he’s done a really good job with that. That’s what he did. I feel like throughout the whole game he was in down there in Australia. So, I thought it was just really cool overall. He’s going to continue to have good games blocking and stuff, but obviously in the pass game too, we’re going to pick it up and really excited to see him do that too.”

He and FB Kyle Juszczyk have been here for 10 years. Do they have head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense mastered as well as a quarterback should? Do they know the ins and outs of it more than anybody else?

“I’d say so. Obviously, every single week we have sometimes new play calls with new names and verbiage and stuff. But when it comes to our offense and how it’s run and especially the run game, they have it down to a T. And, if I say a play a little wrong or off in the huddle, they’ll be like, ‘Hey, don’t you mean this?’ Juice especially. So, Juice has it down really well with that. So does George. But those guys in meetings, will even sometimes say some reminders on a detail of a route or a concept. So, really smart guys to have in the room.”

What does RB Kaelon Black add to this offense? What about his skillset is unique to this team?

“Yeah, feels like a violent runner, feels explosive, feels like very quick, twitchy. And I think he can read the gaps in the run game really well. A guy that obviously we can help out [RB] Christian [McCaffrey] too, sort of allowing Christian to be fresh and be able to give Kaelon some reps in there. And when Christian comes back out there, it feels great. And so regardless, I know Christian can handle that load, but it’s cool to have a young guy in there and be able to handle our offense too, both run game and pass game. So, he had a great first outing and first showing. So, he’s got to keep it up.”

Did you see when he ran into the back of OL Colton McKivitz? What was your reaction to that? What exactly happened?

“He just violent when he’s running and just doesn’t really want to skip a beat, which we all respect. He hits the gaps pretty hard. He’s a hard runner. And so, I think he was just going as fast as he could. And sometimes you make a cut and you’re running into your own guy and stuff like that. So that’s all I saw from it. But, I’m not the running back coach or anything, so I can’t tell him, ‘Hey, have more patience or anything like that.’ He’s been doing this his whole life and I’m sure he’s watched the film and learned from it.”

Obviously, the motion stuff you guys do has been a staple for a while, but with that dash motion or cheat motion that you guys use a lot, from your perspective, what is like the amount of timing that goes into that? What are kind of the indicators that you’re looking for to make sure that it’s coming together the way it’s supposed to?

“Yeah, that’s a huge part of our offense, just snap points with motions and every motion. There’s a reason why we’re calling it the way we are and snapping it where we’re at. It’s taken some practice for me over the years, but Kyle has added some motions and stuff since I’ve been here. So, it’s sort of new for everybody. But I think Juice and our tight ends and receivers, like everybody is very detailed and on point with it. And when it clicks, it helps out the run game. It’s hard for the defense to match who the new number two is or new number three. Is he going to motion across or go back? Those are all things that the defense have to take into account. So, Kyle’s done a good job with drawing those kinds of things up and making it hard on the defense for identification purposes. But, for me, it’s a lot of study throughout the week, where I have to snap guys per play, but at the same time, I know that it’s definitely worth it.”

Relative to what you’ve learned in the past, how much more does it add to your workload in a given week in terms of just knowing where everybody’s going to be?

“I feel like since I’ve been here, Kyle’s offense, obviously as the quarterback, you have to do your job and study, every night and all that kind of thing. And I’m sure every quarterback’s like that across the league. I’m not trying to act special or anything in that regard. But yeah, the snap points on the motions have always been a thing for me since I’ve been here. And so, to your point with those motions that you just talked about, they’re relatively new, but it’s all been a part of the same progress and process that I’ve had throughout the week studying-wise. As we’ve done it the last couple of years, I’ve sort of got the hang of it and understand once I hear this word, I know we’re supposed to be snapped and all that.”

Did you get the sense as you guys were installing the offense this summer that there was an emphasis on bringing back the running game or making it as productive as previous years, maybe after taking a step back last year from a productivity standpoint?

“Yeah, having [run game coordinator] Joe Graves come in this offseason, I feel like we’ve had some meetings where it’s like, ‘Hey, this is who we are. This is the Niner standard of how we run the ball and how important it is.’ It opens up our play pass and then drop back passes and all the things, it all ties together for our offense. And so for us, running the ball here is huge. So, Joe Graves has done a good job coming in and sort of reestablishing, ‘Hey, this is who we are’ and having meetings and watching the O-Line be intentional throughout camp by getting up to the second level and running hard and having the backs hit the right gaps and taking it one gap at a time. These are all things that, I’ve heard since I’ve been a rookie here, but just harping back on it. We need this to get going for us to have success. And I thought we showed that in LA, running the ball really well and those help get drives going and help sustain drives. And in the pass game, it opens up when teams load the box and things like that. So, that’s who we are and we got to keep it up every single week throughout the season.”

In the 2022 game against the Dolphins, when obviously you came in, it was early on, maybe your second drive and they brought a zero blitz and you hit George over the middle as you got smashed. Do you recall this play at all?

“Yeah.”

That was a Chevy concept.

“Yeah, there you go.”

I think you’d already thrown a touchdown pass, so you were kind of in the game, but did a play like that give you any more confidence that you belonged?

“Yeah, man. I think, for me, did that one play sort of solidify like, alright, I belong here? I don’t think so. That was all the reps at camp and in practice and then getting out in the game and the first drive scoring a touchdown. For me, it was like, that should be routine in terms of, complete the ball. Yeah, I might get hit. They zero blitz. Teams do that. Every play has a life of its own. That was a great play. Get back up and you got to go do it again. That’s something that I think when I was young, I was pretty good at, I thought, with just turning the page and keep it going and all that. So, in the moment, I didn’t really think, ‘Yeah, like, I’m the guy because of this one play and throw.’ I think that was right before the half and we had to go down and score. And there were some other plays that I made throwing the ball to Christian to score a touchdown before half. I think looking back at a whole drive, like putting a drive together, I was like, ‘Okay, like that’s playing quarterback in the NFL.’ Rather than just making one good throw, one play. I feel like quarterbacks can do that. It’s the guys that can do it over and over for four quarters and find a way to win the game. That’s when I think you can look at yourself and be like, ‘Alright, we got something to work with here.’”

Has [former Miami Dolphins QB] Dan Marino told you if he’s going to be at the game Sunday?

“I have no idea.”

When OL Jake Brendel is motioning to the sidelines to run it again, how much more excitement and momentum does that give you guys in the huddle just to have that run game going?

“It’s always a good thing. Obviously, when you got the big boys up front wanting to continue to run the ball and run the rock, like, they’re very prideful with that, and rightfully so. We were showing that throughout that game. So, yeah, as a quarterback, when I see a guy after the play looking to the sideline like, ‘I want it again, do it again,’ I was like, ‘Alright, they’re feeling themselves,’ which is good. I love that. Obviously, like I said before, it helps out everything else. The play-action pass and for me to be able to drop back and then rip the ball. We all play together. It takes 11 to get this thing going where it needs to go and for all of us to feed off each other and play off each other. Momentum is a real thing in football, so when I see my offensive linemen hungry to do that, it definitely fires me up.”