Brock Purdy is coming back down to Earth amid a brutal rash of injuries for the San Francisco 49ers, and Colin Cowherd believes the Niners are taking advantage of it.
Not by winning games, of course, as San Francisco fell from 5-4 to 6-8 since Week 11. But Cowherd believes the Niners took the opportunity to place a carefully constructed leak out in NFL media as a negotiating tactic ahead of Purdy’s extension negotiations this offseason.
In a Week 15 recap edition of The Colin Cowherd Podcast, Cowherd accused San Francisco of leaking rumors of Purdy’s $50-60 million contract demands to NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero after their Thursday Night Football loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
“There was a story, and it came out today, and it’s almost as if San Francisco leaked it, that he’s not going to take a Baker (Mayfield) deal, he’s not going to take a (Sam) Darnold deal, that he wants in the $50 million range,” Cowherd said. “When I saw the story coming out … my take was, why is that story coming out now?”
Cowherd elaborated that he simply believes San Francisco is getting cold feet about paying Purdy after finally seeing how he has played without elite talent and the circumstances around him. And because of the convenient timing of the report immediately after the team’s TNF loss to the Rams, Cowherd sees a negotiating ploy in plain sight.
In fact, Cowherd went so far as to say he believes that if Purdy were a free agent this offseason, the Niners would consider pursuing Sam Darnold, who they brought in as a backup last year before his breakout 2024 season with Minnesota. Cowherd also noted Purdy’s own injuries this season as more evidence that San Francisco is nervous about paying him.
Anonymously sourced news has to come from somewhere. If you ask yourself who benefits from leaked stories, you typically find your way to the source pretty quickly. There is no reason for Purdy to make it known that he wants a huge payday midway through a frustrating season.
However, San Francisco can attempt to set the market for its quarterback by letting the NFL media know they intend to buy low on his contract extension.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.