A prominent former MVP gave his take on Brock Purdy’s impact earlier this week.
The San Francisco 49ers have jumped out to a 10-3 start this season, which has them atop the list of playoff contenders with four weeks remaining.
Among the reasons for their success has been quarterback Brock Purdy’s play, as he’s been firmly in the MVP conversation over the past few weeks alongside names like Lamar Jackson and Dak Prescott.
However, one former MVP doesn’t believe that Purdy should be receiving the level of credit that he does for his role with the 49ers.
Breaking down this season’s MVP candidates, former Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton dubbed Purdy as a “game manager”, citing that he isn’t the reason for his team’s success.
“They’re not winning because of him,” Newton said about Purdy, via TheSFNiners. “He’s managing the game. And if we were to put that in its own right as game managers: Brock Purdy, Tua Tagovailoa. Jared Goff. And really, Dak Prescott. These are game managers. They’re not difference makers.”
“If we’re really going to call a spade a spade, a game manager is different than a game-changer.”
What did Purdy think of the whole ordeal?
“I don’t want to comment on that,” Purdy said earlier this week. “Like I said, I’m playing quarterback, trying to win games and we’ll see at the end of all of it.”
While Purdy does have a different play style than Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson, the two other quarterbacks that Newton brought up, the former seventh-round pick has been atop or near the top of several key statistical categories this season, while his team has won the most games in the NFL.
It is intriguing that Newton looped in Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott into the game-manager conversation, as the 2016 fourth-round pick recently jumped Purdy as the odds-on favorite to win this season.
Operating in a different system with different playmakers than Purdy, Prescott has accomplished equally impressive things this season, and would be in my top-two for MVP voting if the season ended today, given the way things have shaken out this year.
Throughout his career, Purdy’s accomplishments have been overshadowed by his elite core of weapons, which have relegated many to dubbing the “game manager” moniker on the quarterback.
Regardless, Purdy has seen high levels of success in 2023 and will look to add to his MVP-like resume this weekend with the Arizona Cardinals next on the docket in Week 15.