Brock Purdy should stop trying to be something he’s not

Six years ago, when Matt Nagy made his debut as coach of the Bears, his roster spot had a big, bold two-word message on it.

BE YOURSELF.

We could all use that advice at some point, whether we give it to ourselves or hear it from someone else. One quarterback who needs to hear it as he approaches his second full season as a starter is Brock Purdy.

It’s not an insult to call him a system quarterback. Either way, he is. And he runs the Shanahan system as well as anyone has ever run it.

But that’s apparently not good enough for Purdy. As he said earlier this month, he wants to “dominant.” And while that is an admirable goal, he should pursue that goal while realizing who he is.

He’s not Patrick Mahomes. He’s not Josh Allen. He’s not Joe Burrow. He’s not Lamar Jackson.

In addition to the seven interceptions Purdy threw in the first two days of practice while trying — and failing — to be someone he’s not, he produced one of the ugliest moments of the 2024 preseason on Sunday night when he rolled to his left, stopped and launched the ball toward the right sideline. It looked awkward and clumsy. It should have been an interception. And if a Saints defender wasn’t in position to try to catch the ball, another was waiting.

Purdy doesn’t have the physical skills to make that play. He has to understand that and he has to stay within the boundaries of what he can do.

It’s not a criticism. It’s reality. He wasn’t the last player taken in the 2022 draft for nothing. And he’s done an excellent job of maximizing his God-given skills because he can run the Shanahan system so well.

Again, system quarterback is not a negative. While there’s no shame in Purdy pushing himself to a higher level of performance, at some point he has to realize that when it comes to becoming the best quarterback in football, his reach is currently beyond his grasp. If he doesn’t reembrace what he does best, he may have a hard time securing a contract at the top of the market after the 2024 season.