San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy threw seven interceptions in his team's first two padded practices of training camp this week, but head coach Kyle Shanahan isn't concerned "at all" about those mistakes.
"I know, always, stats are made a big deal in practice, and I know that'll stick out, too," Shanahan said, according to David Bonilla of 49ers Webzone. "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."
Purdy was intercepted three times Monday and four Tuesday, notes The Oregonian's Geoffrey C. Arnold, who adds that the passer's four picks Tuesday came on his final five throws.
Purdy - an MVP finalist who helped the 49ers reach the Super Bowl last season - has thrown only 15 interceptions in 614 pass attempts through 25 career appearances. The 2022 seventh-round pick was the NFL's most efficient passer in 2023, posting a league-high 9.6 yards per pass attempt and a 113 passer rating. He finished last year with 31 scores against 11 interceptions.
"When you're in practice, if we were really trying to fix that, and if he 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," Shanahan explained. "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 also addressed his interceptions at practice.
"It's a fine line," Purdy recently said, according to KNBR. "You want to go out, you want to be efficient, you want to go through reads and obviously protect the ball and whatnot. But right now is the time for us to go out and - you always hear the quarterback say 'experiment' - but that's really what it is."
The 24-year-old boasts a 17-4 regular-season record as a starter in the NFL and is 4-2 in the playoffs.
