This week, much has been made about Brock Purdy's seven combined interceptions through the first two days of practice. However, San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is not overly concerned. He made that clear on Friday when asked about Purdy's practice miscues.
Practice is the time for quarterbacks to experiment and test the limits of their abilities on the football field.
"In the game and in the season, it comes down to protecting the ball every snap, every play, so you can't necessarily try those things out," Purdy said this week during a radio interview. "Right now, we can, and so my mindset right now is protect the ball, but let's be aggressive. Let's try this out. Let's figure it out."
Shanahan agrees with his quarterback's approach.
"I know, always, stats are made a big deal in practice and I know that'll stick out, too," Shanahan told reporters. "And we never want a lot of picks in practice, regardless of who it is, but Brock's never really had an interception problem. He's protected the ball pretty well in this league for his two years. He also isn't scared to let it rip, too.
"When you're in practice, if we were really trying to fix that, and if he had had a problem, and you come out and that's all we're focusing on, and he still has some stats like that, then that's something that concerns you. But that's something I really haven't been worried about with Brock, and that's why those stats are also something that hasn't bothered me at all."
Purdy threw a lot of interceptions last year during training camp, but the issue didn't carry over into the regular season. The young quarterback ended up having an impressive 2023 campaign, with his 4,280 passing yards setting a single-season franchise record and his 113.0 passer rating leading all qualifying NFL quarterbacks.
Purdy tossed 31 touchdowns compared to 11 interceptions last season, and he didn't throw a pick in his first five games. So, you can certainly understand why Purdy's coaches and teammates aren't too concerned over a few poor practice outings.
