Christian McCaffrey Praises Brock Purdy amid 49ers Rumors: 'Such an Impressive Guy'

As the San Francisco 49ers prepare for another round of quarterback questions going into their offseason team activities, Christian McCaffrey had high praise for Brock Purdy's performance when he was thrust into a starting role late last season.

Appearing on NFL Network's Good Morning Football (h/t NFL.com's Nick Shook), McCaffrey called Purdy "such an impressive guy" as a player and teammate.

"He came in right away and he's exactly what you would have wanted," the 49ers running back said. "He had poise, confidence and he demanded the huddle. He did his job and he made plays beyond the X's and O's and that's all you really want in a quarterback."

While much of the focus last offseason in San Francisco was on how Trey Lance was acclimating himself as the starter, Purdy was locked in a battle with Nate Sudfeld to be the No. 3 quarterback.

Purdy ultimately won the job and wound up playing a much bigger role than anyone could have expected when he was selected with the final pick of the 2022 NFL draft.

Lance's season ended in Week 2 due to a fractured fibula. Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a season-ending broken foot in Week 13.

The 49ers went on to win Purdy's five regular-season starts and advanced to the NFC Championship game. He was terrific with 1,098 yards, 11 touchdowns and a 68.6 completion percentage in those five starts.

An elbow injury Purdy suffered in the first quarter of the NFC title game against the Philadelphia Eagles doomed the 49ers' chances of reaching the Super Bowl. He's still recovering from surgery to repair the issue, but head coach Kyle Shanahan is hopeful he can be back by the start of training camp in July.

Lance and Sam Darnold will likely be competing to open the 2023 season as San Francisco's starter if Purdy isn't ready.