Golden Nuggets: So close to football I can taste it

Tony Romo explains what makes San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy a special talent (paywall)

“I know the timing of where things are supposed to be and what you’re looking at, and when you’re throwing the ball,” Romo said. “A tenth of a second feels like a minute to me when I’m watching. ... These little tenths of seconds are the difference and people either have spacial awareness — some people call it instincts. I call it the ability to use leverage against the opposing player. And then obviously your ability to react and use spacial awareness within that....And he has that. I saw it right away.”

Gould wanted to re-sign with 49ers; contract offer never came

“I would’ve loved to have gone back there,” Gould said at the American Century Championship at Edgewood Tahoe Resort.

“I told them I wanted to go back there. We never got an offer from the team and we never had a conversation about coming back.”

Where Christian McCaffrey, Trent Williams, other 49ers landed in ESPN position rankings

“He’s an incredibly gifted player,” an NFC executive told Fowler. “He has lapses and relies on that talent too much at times. There is some wavering physicality with him. But when he turns it on, nearly impossible to stop.”

Why Alex Smith is a fan of the 49ers’ QB situation

“We love to pit them against each other, right?” Smith said. “But the true reality is that’s not the case. Brock Purdy’s going down his journey. Certainly, he got his elbow deal that he’s rehabbing now and trying to come back from, but he’s trying to be the best quarterback he can be. Trey Lance, no different, right? Sam Darnold, no different. And that doesn’t conflict. They can all get along and do it. And actually, competition can bring out the best in all of them.”....

“We love to get caught up in the Combine, and kind of the underwear Olympics, and all the measurables—height, weight, speed, hand size, arm strength, how far can you throw it, and how many miles per hour does he throw it,” Smith shared. “In the end, quarterbacking, certainly, there’s a level of accuracy. You’ve got to be able to throw on time and hit your targets. But it’s really processing. It’s really between your ears. You’ve got to be able to process a lot, fast, and there’s not a great way to quantify that yet.

“In our interview process, and the Combine, and all the weird tests you take, they haven’t really found a great way to quantify that. And I think Brock showed he’s got it right between the ears. It’s not too big for him. This is a guy I know didn’t get many reps in training camp. [He] finally got back up to number two [after Lance’s injury], so he’s running scout team. You’re still not getting many reps. And then to step in and just operate the way he did, it wasn’t too big. You could see him dial in.

“And I know, in that system, there’s a lot on the quarterback’s plate, from a processing standpoint, and I think he showed enough that, absolutely, he’s got it. And again, height, 40, arm strength, that stuff really is secondary at the NFL level, and I think he’s got the things that you’re looking for to win sustainably.”