Former NFL cornerback Jason McCourty thinks it would be wise for the Pittsburgh Steelers to make a call to San Francisco and acquire about quarterback Brock Purdy . At this point, what do they have to lose? The market at quarterback has dried up and they're hoping on a prayer that Aaron Rodgers will come to Pittsburgh.
"Now if you're the Pittsburgh Steelers, you've already traded for DK Metcalf , and gave him a big contract," McCourty said on ESPN's Get Up . "You need to have somebody to throw the ball to them. If you're the Steelers, why not think about calling up the 49ers and John Lynch and saying 'I don't know where you guys are at right now. give us a shot at Brock Purdy.' We'll let him be able to distribute to all the weapons we have here in Pittsburgh."
ESPN's Chris Canty also believes Steelers general manager Omar Khan should pick up the phone, dial a San Francisco area code, and ask about Purdy's availability.
Purdy, 25, is entering the final season of his rookie deal. He's outplayed his "Mr. Irrelevant" draft position and has been a bargain for San Francisco, which will pay him $5.28 million in 2025. The 49ers' window of contention has narrowed considerably, and extending him will cost San Fran a good amount of money.
"It was prime Ben Roethlisberger , and prime Terry Bradshaw, and a lot of mediocre in between those guys," Canty said of the Steelers' signal-caller track record on "Unsportsmanlike." "They're not great at being able to find quarterbacks. And the San Francisco 49ers are already gutting themselves. So it feels like a phone call you should make. They'll probably tell you, 'Hell nah.' But at least you should make the phone call."
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy in the win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 10, 2023. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport spoke about Purdy's situation last Tuesday on ESPN's the Pat McAfee Show.
"I don't get the sense that it's imminent, imminent. But it's always coming," Rapoport said. "So teams do budgeting on out, they know it's coming and they do have to account for it. What the number is going to be is interesting."
As of now, the Steelers are waiting on Rodgers to make a decision. Russell Wilson appears to be a backup plan. If neither of those options work, calling San Francisco about Purdy might be the best pathway to finding an answer at quarterback for the 2025 season.
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