The San Francisco 49ers want to extend Brock Purdy. Brock Purdy wants to sign an extension with the 49ers. So why hasn’t it happened yet?
That was the top question for general manager John Lynch when he spoke to reporters at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis on Wednesday. Take a look at this quote:
“I feel really confident,” Lynch said. “It’s hard for me. I want things done now. I always challenge that. Why can’t we? He wants to be here, we want him. Deadlines tend to drive these things, but our track record is — we get them done.”
Now, that quote seems like the Purdy negotiation is going swimmingly. There’s only one problem: That’s not actually what Lynch said Wednesday. That quote is from the combine two years ago, when Lynch was talking about the team’s extension talks with Nick Bosa.
At the time, the 49ers had the track record to be trustworthy to “get them done,” as Lynch put it. Typically, the 49ers had made sure to wrap up their extensions with their stars before training camp began: George Kittle in 2020, Fred Warner in 2021 and Deebo Samuel in 2022 (though not until after a dramatic summer for the apparently soon-to-be-departing receiver).
But that confidence is now completely gone for 49ers fans. Bosa ended up missing all of the 2023 training camp and didn’t sign his extension until four days before the regular season began. In 2024, both Brandon Aiyuk and Trent Williams missed training camp while negotiating extensions. (All three players started the season slowly after their prolonged extension talks, too.)
At last year’s combine, Lynch was asked about Aiyuk’s contract talks. He called Aiyuk “one of my favorite guys around our building” and had similar faith in getting a deal done: “We’ve got a nice track record of extending players that are important to us, and Brandon is a guy we want to keep around for a long time,” he said in 2024.
So after two years and three different contract negotiation calamities with players, it’s understandable that fans are nervous about the Purdy talks. Lynch acknowledged negotiations have begun and, like he’s done before, reiterated the Niners’ desire to have Purdy be their QB for the foreseeable future.
At least Lynch seems to have a sense of humor about his consistent messaging, according to San Francisco Chronicle reporter Eric Branch. (The Chronicle and SFGATE are both owned by Hearst but have separate newsrooms.) Lynch laughed when asked at Wednesday’s event if he felt optimistic Purdy could sign his deal quicker than Aiyuk or Williams. “Sure. I said that last year, too,” the GM quipped, according to Branch.
But there IS one big difference between Lynch’s remarks from the past few years and what he said on Wednesday: He left open the idea that a Purdy extension won’t get inked.
First, in his public press conference: “There’s no guarantees that we get something done. But my experience has been when both sides are motivated, there’s ample opportunity to do so. And we’ve been able to do that.”
He went even further on this point in his session with local reporters, according to NBC Sports Bay Area: “The great news is, with the CBA and all that, is he’s going to be with us. But there’s no guarantees, but we’re going to endeavor to get it done.”
