Brock Purdy will reunite with his former backup, Sam Darnold, on Sunday as the Minnesota Vikings host the San Francisco 49ers. Darnold spent just one season with the 49ers before signing with the Vikings in free agency this year. With the Niners, he served as an insurance policy for Purdy as he recovered from offseason surgery.
Reflecting on their time together, Purdy expressed gratitude for Darnold's contributions to the quarterback room.
"Sam's the man. I've told everybody that," Purdy said Thursday. "I absolutely love Sam and who he is as a person, what he has done for this team in the quarterback room last year for Brandon [Allen] and I. He came in and helped me prepare and gave me everything that he had with his role as a backup to help me be successful on Sundays. And so I'll always be grateful for that.
"I love Sam. He's very talented. He's in a great situation, great offense, great players around him. Sam is so talented with his arm strength, his legs, like Sam can move. And so, to be able to go out and compete against him, it's going to be fun. That's who he is. He's a competitor. I know he's going to want this one, too. And so, for all of us, it's going to be a fun game."
Defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen also spoke highly of Darnold, noting the quarterback's natural talent, which led to his being a top-three draft pick in 2018.
"He is a really good athlete," Sorensen said. "If you watch him throw, he can throw. ... He definitely has a talent. He's got the arm strength. He can see things. I think he probably learned a lot, too, when he came here, as you would in any year, you keep growing.
"You could see it on the practice field. I was like, 'Man, he can really throw it,' and he would give us good looks in practice and stuff going against him. You could see the talent; you can see how he moves. He's a good athlete as well."
One of Sorensen's players, Deommodore Lenoir, believes his experience practicing against Darnold will give him an advantage on Sunday. When asked who he thinks will win the matchup, the confident cornerback didn't hesitate with his answer.
"I think I'll win that for sure. I believe I'll win," Lenoir responded via Jake Hutchinson of Audacy. "Me and Sam, we done have this connection, this connection, where he like to throw the ball to me. This week I'm coming, he know it.
"But I know he's a talented player. He's gonna come ready to work. I know how he prepares. He gave us great looks when played here with us, just taking over the scout team, he was throwing dimes. So I know it's going to have to be tight, sticky coverage."
Williams battling rust
Trent Williams had to leave Monday night's game against the Jets late in the fourth quarter to get an IV, as the physical toll of his first game back after a lengthy holdout became apparent. The 36-year-old tackle hadn't participated in training camp or preseason, making Monday his first game action since February.
Williams expects to be better prepared for Sunday's game in Minneapolis.
"Hopefully, I'm gonna be a little better, but I definitely was winded (against the Jets)," Williams admitted. "Yeah, I ain't gonna lie. I mean, 41 days not playing football—well, six months not playing football—to going straight into game week, it was pretty tough. But I'm still trying to get acclimated. I'm still trying to get my football wind up and just taking it one week at a time right now."
Williams knows his body will eventually adjust to the rigors of the game.
"It happens every year, so I know it'll happen soon," Williams added. "But you gotta get enough practice in, you gotta get enough full-contact days. I literally had one full-contact date, and not even full, but put on shoulder pads once before we played the Jets. I would like to have more preparation than that, but the situation is situation, so I'm just trying to make the best of it."
Offensive line coach and run game coordinator Chris Foerster is confident Williams will return to form soon and said he's already doing better this week.
"Trent is in better—a lot better—shape. It's really interesting to watch," Foerster commented. "To think that he went in with an IV, to think he played all the plays he played is pretty amazing. Now, Trent is smart. Trent knows when to go hard and when not to go hard. Trent knows when he can take a little bit off and when he can't."
Foerster added that Williams only missed two plays on Monday. The coach was surprised when Williams returned to the field after heading to the locker room.
"And then he's running back out there like a kid. 'I'm going back in, right?'" Foerster said, amused by the situation.
As for the rust, Foerster acknowledged the difficulty of getting back to game speed, saying, "There's nothing like the real rep of a game that full-speed, that push, all that shoving and stuff. It's just that he didn't get that, that timing. No matter how hard he drills himself or practices against error bags or whatever he does, it's not the same. So it's just timing."
Purdy reflects on last meeting with Vikings
Last October, the 49ers' trip to Minneapolis was part of a three-game skid. Purdy reflected on that game, believing the experience will help him this time around.
"It was a good experience last year and there's some things that I had to learn from," Purdy said. "I had a year of film and stuff, and this week of practice, so we're excited for it."
Purdy also remembers the intensity of the environment at U.S. Bank Stadium, where the passionate Vikings fanbase makes it a tough place for visiting teams.
"At the end especially, it was a tight game and everything, and that place was rocking," Purdy recalled from last season's trip there. "For the most part, the whole game, they were like that. Some loyal fans that they've got in Minnesota. It's a dome, so it just gets loud in there, and they bring it.
"It's an environment where you want to go in and try to obviously do your thing to put up points and score to create momentum and keep them away from being so loud. But, it's a great environment to play in."
Effective communication amid the noise will be key for the 49ers in this hostile environment.
"Being in the huddle, screaming the play, breaking, and then you're not being able to hear guys and yell and make audibles," Purdy explained. "It's all signals and, like I said, we're on silent cadence, which is a whole other dynamic from playing at home. And so, it's totally different.
"But there's some good things that can come from it just in terms of the preparation and being ready for those moments and executing. Sometimes, the best-executed games are on the road with crazy environments because you have to be more in tune to the little things. So there's pros and cons to it."
Missing McCaffrey
Christian McCaffrey was limited in practice for the second consecutive day after missing Monday night's game. The running back is trying to return from a calf strain and Achilles tendinitis.
The 49ers were impressive without McCaffrey, beating the Jets 32-19. Purdy was asked how opposing defenses change their approach without McCaffrey on the field.
Purdy highlighted that having McCaffrey in the lineup is especially valuable on third downs. The versatile running back is a significant threat in the passing game, forcing defenses to account for him as a potential receiving option.
"He's the best in the league at it," Purdy said. "And so when he is not out there, I think it sort of not necessarily simplifies things for defenses, but that's a component that they don't have to really handle, and then they can focus on [TE] George [Kittle] and [WR Brandon Aiyuk] and [WR] Deebo [Samuel]. So that's something that, for us, we have to understand. And as a quarterback, I always like having that because I think it does open up other guys."
