Kyle Shanahan has a sick sense of humor.
This offseason, the 49ers signed Brock Purdy to a five-year, $265 million contract, making him the seventh-highest-paid player in the NFL. But just three years ago when Purdy was a rookie trying to make the team, Shanahan pulled a vicious prank on him during cutdown day.
"We're in the quarterback room, and then Kyle opened up the door," Purdy said. "He goes, 'Hey, Brock, can you grab your stuff and come talk to me?' I was like, 'Bro.' I was like, 'Am I getting cut?' I was like, 'Dang, dude.'"
"And then he goes, 'No, I'm kidding. Set your stuff down. He's like, 'Congrats, bro,' and then dapped me up.
"I was like, dude, my heart was pounding."
Then, Shanahan cut Nate Sudfeld instead. Sorry, Nate.
The 49ers famously drafted Purdy with the last pick in Round 7, plus they had given Sudfeld guaranteed money. They were prepared to waive Purdy and stash him on the practice squad. But he showed his potential during the preseason and forced the 49ers to keep him and eat Sudfeld's money -- a wise decision in retrospect. The 49ers could have fallen victim to a sunk-cost fallacy, kept Sudfeld, waived Purdy, and lost him.
In retrospect, cutting Purdy would have been one of the biggest mistakes in franchise history -- right up there with trading three first-round draft picks plus a third for Trey Lance. Fortunately for Shanahan, he was only joking about cutting Purdy.
Good one, Kyle.