What has gone wrong with the 49ers and Brock Purdy this season? The NFC Champions are at the bottom of their division with a 5-7 record, and their star player has failed to impress. In fact, after Purdy threw three interceptions during the loss to the Chiefs in October, an NFL executive even called on the Niners to make a decision on whether to trade him or offer him a new contract. His performance against the Bills on Sunday led to more doubts about his future in San Francisco.

Currently, Purdy is on a four-year rookie contract with the 49ers worth just under $3.74 million, averaging an income of  $934,252 annually. If the franchise offers him an extension during the 2025 offseason, he will earn significantly more than the $1,100,000 he is slated to make in his final year. So what have Kyle Shanahan and Co. planned for Purdy?

On the December 2 episode of The Herd With Colin Cowherd, NFL insider Albert Breer talked about the situation with Purdy and what the Niners have in mind regarding his status with the franchise. When asked by Colin Cowherd whether the 49ers are ready to offer Purdy an extension.

“Yeah I think so. I can tell you, like people there are flat out told me, that’s the plan and they’ve budgeted for that. They’ve been preparing to do that. They’ve been preparing to do that. I don’t know where negotiations are going to go and we know the Niners have had some protracted negotiations over the last few years right? So they had one with Nick Bosa, they had one with Brandon Aiyuk, they had one with Debo Samuel. A couple of those got to the point where you know the idea of making a trade was on the table.

So you know they’ve fought through these things in the past. Obviously a quarterback is a little different because you got to know who your starting quarterback is going to be in March and so like I think for the Niners it’s going to be about sitting down and starting the process of this early, “ Brees pointed out.

The Niners have had a tough time during contract negotiations like the 44-day holdout with

Nick Bosa in 2023 before he signed a 5-year $170 million contract extension with $122 million guaranteed. But after the big contract, Bosa’s performance dropped comparatively. He still had a solid 2023 season with 10.5 sacks, which was a significant drop off from the 18.5 and 15.5-sack seasons he had in 2022 and 2021 respectively. The same thing happened in Brandon Aiyuk’s case.

Aiyuk signed a four-year $120 million contract this year in August, but so far it has been a lackluster season. Over the first four games, the 26-year-old receiver totaled just 167 receiving yards and did not score.

So far this season, Purdy has completed 213 of 324 passes (65.7% completion rate) in 2,707 passing yards with 13 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. With the former seventh-round pick nearing the end of his rookie contract, there hasn’t been much development with regards to a new contract and what terms it will carry.

As a quarterback, Purdy will command a bigger extension and may seek to become the league’s next $200 million man, with the likes of Dak Prescott, Deshaun Watson, Joe Burrow, and a few others earning well over $2oo million as part of their lucrative, long-term extensions. Right now, Purdy is the league’s most underpaid starting QB and will look to have a bloated deal in place ideally before the next season kicks off.

There are a few things that may fall in Purdy’s favor though. Coach Shanahan has been quite conservative in his team building, which means he is unlikely to trade for Purdy and go for radical roster changes. Moreover, he has been also reluctant to move away from his starting QBs, as seen with Jimmy Garoppolo.

For the 49ers giving Purdy a new contract would also mean planning to go one better than their runner-up finish in the Super Bowl, but there is another aspect.

Breer also mentioned how the 49ers could opt for Sam Darnold or Kirk Cousins, if things with Purdy go south and can also use them as leverage in the negotiations. “They could say take our offer at 40 take our offer, at 35 or else we’ll go get this guy for that price. That certainly could exist as an element in the negotiation,” he mentioned.

While offering Purdy a new contract would make sense, he would still command an annual value of $50-$60 million. Hence, the 49ers could look to trade him to recoup some draft capital and free up their salary cap.

According to a report in The Atheltic, an NFL executive has said the 49ers “need to make a decision about whether they should just be moving on from this older core and building around Purdy, or do they trade Purdy, get stuff for him, and go with a cheaper option at quarterback?”

Amid these speculations, the week 13 game against the Bills has become a hot topic for discussion among the fans. It was played in a snow shower at a temperature of 28 °F and it seems the 49ers froze on the occasion.

Analyst jibes at Brock Purdy for week 13 performance

During the show, Colin Cowherd made an interesting remark, “Watching Purdy against Josh Allen in the snow. I mean, it was Mac Jones and Josh Allen.” Well, he is right there. Josh Allen has a powerful arm, but Purdy and Jones are not known for their throwing power.

Particularly at the High Mark Stadium, where weather has been a challenge for the visiting teams. When Mac Jones came to New York for the week 13 matchup, gutsy winds of 50 mph were flowing. He only had 2 of 3 passes in 19 yards, while Allen had 15 of 30 passes with 145 yards and a touchdown. But the Patriots won 14-10. The 49ers couldn’t.

During the week 13 game, Brock Purdy had 11 of 18 passes in 94 yards, while Allen made 13 of 17 passes in 148 yards and 2 touchdowns. The snow shower was there, but the Bills won 35-10. It was their 3rd consecutive defeat. With 5 wins and 7 losses, the 49ers have to win all the remaining 5 games.

Sitting at the bottom of the NFC West division and 11th in their conference, the playoff chances are slim. A lot of what is discussed about Purdy’s contract will largely depend on where the 49ers finish this season. Failure to make post season will be unthinkable and might lead to a rethink of a possible massive extension for their starter quarterback.