Sam Darnold entered the year as the San Francisco 49ers' new backup quarterback after five unfruitful seasons with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers. His career outlook at the time looked bleak.

Of the 25 names released by the NFL who cashed in, Purdy came in at No. 16 and he wasn’t even the highest 49er player on the list. That went to rookie guard Dominick Puni, who received $898,036 after playing all but one snap in 17 games after being a third-round draft pick out of Kansas.

For the first time since negotiations began, there appears to be what could be described as “good news” stemming from the San Francisco 49ers’ contract extension talks with quarterback Brock Purdy. In the wake of a tumultuous 24-hour free agency period for the Niners,