Brock Purdy made a rare media appearance on Tuesday, and finally broke his silence on the departure of one of his biggest playmakers.
Since ascending to the starting job in 2022, Purdy has elevated a number of players, not least Brandon Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings, but the player he’s been most inextricably linked with is dual-threat weapon Deebo Samuel.
The two linked up expertly during Samuel’s time with the Niners, being a key component in their run to the Super Bowl in 2023, and establishing Samuel as one of the key players in San Francisco’s multi-faceted offense.
That all ended this offseason though, as after a down 2024 season, the 49ers traded the disgruntled wide receiver to the Washington Commanders, while at the same time coming to a figure to reward Purdy with a lucrative long-term deal.
In some of his first public comments since the deal was signed, Purdy spoke of his former teammate, and clearly sees a gap to fill.
Brock Purdy speaks on Deebo Samuel trade, says ‘it sucks’
Speaking on the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast, Purdy was honest about the loss of Samuel, despite otherwise being largely media-friendly towards his franchise.
“It sucks, dude. He’s my boy…I love Deebo,” Purdy lamented. Day one, he’s always had my back and believed in me when I got in. I didn’t really know how the guys were going to take it when I did get thrown in. Jimmy [Garoppolo] went down; I was the last quarterback, and Deebo was nothing but just great to me, dude, building me up, and just giving me confidence.”
“In games, we fed off each other’s energy and building each other up,” he continued. “It was awesome, and over the last couple of years, same thing. So, we created just a great relationship. He’s my brother.”
Samuel recorded 334 catches for nearly 5000 receiving yards in San Francisco, scoring 22 touchdowns. However, he also made his name as a so-called ‘wide-back’, carrying the ball to great effect out of certain formations. 20 touchdowns and a thousand yards on the ground saw him become feared as a dual-threat player, and earned him a three-year, $73.5m extension from the 49ers in 2022.
Who benefits from Deebo’s departure in San Francisco?
With Samuel out of the door, the 49ers will need a major step up from one of their younger playmakers as they bid to bounce back in 2025.
Brandon Aiyuk is likely to miss part of the season —and seems to be disgruntled himself — so there’s no guarantee he’ll return to the same form that earned him his own mega-deal prior to the 2024 season.
Christian McCaffrey will likely remain a key player, but age and injuries have been slowing him for a while, and his recovery from his most recent injury will likely determine how effective he remains in the future. The 49ers are likely to instead look to newly re-signed George Kittle, the emerging Jauan Jennings, and youngster Ricky Pearsall to fill the Samuel void, with each providing an element of his skill set and, in some cases, more explosive play.
Another name to look out for may be fourth-round rookie wide receiver Jordan Watkins, who impressed in the early portions of the offseason.
Whoever it is, the 49ers and Purdy need to find them quickly. Developing chemistry with a new top target will likely start to erase some of the pain the letdown 2024 season brought Bay Area fans, and they’ll hope that doing so puts them near the NFL top table once again.
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