Richard Sherman: 49ers ‘don’t have any other choice’ than to play Brock Purdy

Former San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman believes the team needs to go with rookie quarterback Brock Purdy for the rest of the season. 

“You trust Brock Purdy,” Sherman explained during his podcast, according to David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone. “You cheer for Brock Purdy. You hope Brock Purdy works out because that’s the only answer. That’s all you’ve got. At this point, you don’t have any other choice.”

Purdy was the final pick of this year’s NFL Draft and was largely an afterthought on the depth chart. The 22-year-old was then upgraded as a backup after starter Trey Lance suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Week 2. He was then thrust into the lineup when Jimmy Garoppolo went down with a season-ending broken left foot during Sunday’s 33-17 victory over the Miami Dolphins that improved San Francisco to 8-4.

Purdy completed 25-of-37 passes for 210 yards with two touchdowns and an interception against Miami and is on track to start when the 49ers host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday. Tampa Bay plays against the New Orleans Saints on Monday night. 

“This is heartbreak,” Sherman said about what Garoppolo’s injury could mean for a team deemed by many experts to be a legitimate Super Bowl contender. “This is terror. This is a nightmare scenario for the San Francisco 49ers. Jimmy G, who was saving the season, goes out, and Brock Purdy does a solid—very solid—job.

“Kyle Shanahan deserves a ton of credit for what he was able to do with Brock Purdy on short notice. Brock probably didn’t get any first-team reps, I would imagine, the entire week. [He] went out there and executed, got the job done.”

Per ESPN stats, Garoppolo is sixth in the NFL among qualified quarterbacks with a 103 passer rating and 19th with a 53.2 total QBR. Across 11 games and 10 starts, he passed for 2,437 yards with 16 touchdowns and four interceptions. The 49ers won seven times and five straight contests with Garoppolo serving as QB1. 

San Francisco has been linked with Baker Mayfield since the Carolina Panthers waived the first pick of the 2018 NFL Draft on Monday. Mayfield is dead last among 31 players with an 18.2 total QBR this season and 32nd with a 57.8% completion percentage. 

It’s unclear if San Francisco will add Mayfield to the roster, as the club signed journeyman Josh Johnson to fill Garoppolo’s spot.