Patrick Willis when presented with a choice between Colin Kaepernick and Brock Purdy: “I’m going to have to take Kap”
Willis takes his former teammate due to that amazing 2012 season.
Brock Purdy etched his name into the 49ers history books with his superb 2023 season, notching the most passing yards in franchise history among other accolades. There’s been a lot of comparisons between he and his predecessor, Jimmy Garoppolo, but now there’s a new one: Brock Purdy vs. Colin Kaepernick.
And former 49ers linebacker (and soon to be Pro Football Hall of Famer) Patrick Willis choose Kaepernick over Purdy.
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While on Robert Griffin III’s RGIII and the Ones podcast, Willis was presented with the question: 2012 Kaepernick or 2023 Purdy. Willis has praised Purdy an awful lot in the past, but decided to go with the quarterback he played opposite of in his final seasons with the 49ers. I’ve transcribed the cut-up of the interview below:
“I’m going to have to take Kap. A lot of people can go back and nitpick what it looked like towards his last couple years or whatnot with the Niners or his last year with the Niners. He did what he needed to do. It may not have been in a way that a traditional quarterback throwing way, but man, him, you [RGIII] guys were something electrifying. But man, Purdy, that’s a tough one man. I love them 1A and 1B.”
Keep in mind, this is 2012 Colin Kaepernick, as RGIII pointed out. This is not what Colin Kaepernick became in his final years. Plus, Willis has been very vocal about Purdy and probably has him just behind Kaepernick (The 1a and 1b)
Regardless, I can see why Willis would go with Kaepernick. Beyond the two being teammates, Kaepernick in 2012 was a beast and there was even a sideline video of how surprised Willis was with Kaepernick’s running speed during the NFC Divisional win over the Green Bay Packers (I tried to find video of it, but was unable to). When he took the field against the Chicago Bears, everyone thought the 49ers had something special. Once he started running the pistol and gashing defenses with his legs, everyone wondered what the ceiling was.
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