The 49ers still have their main piece of business to handle this offseason.
It’s no secret that the top piece of business remaining for the San Francisco 49ers this offseason is getting a contract extension done for quarterback Brock Purdy.
As it stands, Purdy is in line to become one of the NFL’s highest-paid players with his impending contract extension, and it seems that negotiations have been trending in the right direction.
The quarterback reported for voluntary offseason workouts late last month, indicating that progress had been made on a deal, and general manager John Lynch continued his stance that both sides are trending positively as the offseason continues.
But, are the 49ers close to striking a deal with Purdy? NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport doesn’t seem to think so.
“I have not gotten the sense that it’ll get done soon, but it does at least seem like it’s going in the right direction,” Rapoport said.
“Kittle’s deal was sort of a little bit quicker. They got the Fred Warner deal they could do. Quarterback deals usually take longer. But it seems like it’s positive and headed in the right direction. Just, we’ll see if they get that good landing spot somewhere in the 50s to get Brock Purdy locked in long-term.”
What could be a timeline for a Purdy deal?
“Usually [for quarterbacks], it’s like, ‘Is he going to sign right before training camp?’ And then if he doesn’t, it’s like he’ll hold in a lot of the times,” Rapoport continued. “But, that’s kind of the next [step]. It’s like, mandatory minicamp [is a] deadline sort of. Training camp deadline, that’s kind of the next thing. So, mid-June or late-July [are the dates to keep in mind].”
It seems like the 49ers have gone deeper in negotiations earlier than usual this offseason, as they got George Kittle’s deal done in late April, just weeks after the Arizona Cardinals got an extension done for star tight end Trey McBride.
With no other major quarterback deals expected this offseason, the 49ers aren’t negotiating with other teams to get Purdy’s extension done, eliminating a possible roadblock. At the moment, it seems like things are trending positively, but it’s notable that Rapoport believes it’ll still take some time before a deal is finalized.
San Francisco also has a possible Fred Warner extension to handle this offseason. Warner is entering the fourth year of his five-year, $95 million deal. He could very well earn top-of-the-market money like Kittle did, but there doesn’t seem to be any drama there, as the linebacker also reported to voluntary offseason workouts last month.
The next key dates for the 49ers are May 27th, when the team is reporting back for organized team activities (OTAs), and June 10th, when the three-day mandatory minicamp is held. Those will be the next inflection points for a possible Brock Purdy deal, but things seem to be trending in the right direction heading into the latter half of the offseason.