This is not a story all too dissimilar to that of 49ers Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana. Montana himself was a third-stringer going into his fourth year at Notre Dame. Montana may not have been Mr. Irrelevant, but he was a 3rd-round pick in the 1979 NFL Draft and sat behind Steve DeBerg his entire rookie season. I think we all know how Montana’s career played out.
With the 49ers gearing up to play the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 58, the greatest Niners quarterback of all-time is making the rounds to discuss the upcoming game, and more specifically, with ESPN’s Pat McAfee, Montana discussed what he thinks of the 49ers second-year quarterback, who some analysts and former players have dismissively referred to as a “game manger.”
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Montana, a four-time Super Bowl champion and two-time league MVP, had the benefit of playing with Jerry Rice, the greatest wide receiver in NFL history, for seven seasons. Rice made six All-Pro teams in his time with Montana under center. Montana also played with wide receivers Dwight Clark and John Taylor, each of whom were two-time Pro Bowlers, and running back Roger Craig, a four-time Pro Bowler and the 1988 Offensive Player of the Year. And of course, Montana spent nearly his entire 49ers career playing under one of the most influential offensive minds in league history, head coach and father of the West Coast offense, Bill Walsh.
Purdy enters Super Bowl 58 with a similar amount of firepower around him. Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk make up arguably the best cast of the weapons in the entire NFL, and head coach Kyle Shanahan, much like Bill Walsh once was, is widely considered to be one of the brightest offensive minds in the NFL. Whether Purdy manages the game or changes the game on Sunday February 11th, his play will be crucial to determining whether the 49ers can capture their sixth Super Bowl in franchise history.
