He played college football for the Iowa State Cyclones and was selected by the 49ers with the final pick in the 2022 NFL draft, becoming that year's Mr.

Purdy began his rookie season in the NFL as the third-string quarterback but took the starting role following injuries to Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo.

[5] Purdy started his varsity football career during the 2015 season as a sophomore for the newly opened Perry High School.

[6] Purdy's performance elevated Perry into the 6A Division AIA State Championship game in 2016 and 2017, losing 65–28 and 48–42, respectively, both to Chandler High School.

[16][17] Overall, Purdy started eight games, completing 146-of-220 passes for 2,250 yards, 16 touchdowns, and seven interceptions for what would prove to be a career-best 169.9 passer rating (sixth best in all NCAA football), and compiling a 7–2 record for the Cyclones.

[29] In his 2021 senior year, Purdy and Hall again led the Cyclones to a 7–6 record, highlighted by 307 yards and two touchdowns in a 24–21 victory over number 8 Oklahoma State.

[24] Purdy's four years at Iowa State corresponded with the first time the school's football program had seen four consecutive winning seasons since 1923–1927.

The coach indicated that Purdy's performance in his first NFL season would likely have warranted being drafted in the second or third round, saying: "We undervalued his agility and probably the mental side, and San Francisco is perfect for it because they put a lot of importance on that because of their offense.

A week into training camp during the 2022 preseason, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan told 49ers CEO Jed York that he thought Purdy was the team's best quarterback.

[40] During a Week 5 37–15 road victory over the Carolina Panthers, Purdy made his NFL debut, taking a knee to close out the game.

Purdy performed efficiently, and finished the game completing 25-of-37 passes for 210 yards, two touchdowns—one to running back Christian McCaffrey and one to fullback Kyle Juszczyk—and an interception during a 33–17 victory.

[45] On December 11, Purdy became the only quarterback in his first career start to beat a team led by Tom Brady, when the 49ers defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 35–7.

[47][48][49] In the next game against the Seahawks, Purdy had 17-for-26 passing with 217 yards and two touchdowns, both to George Kittle, during the 21–13 victory as the 49ers clinched the NFC West.

[50] Purdy became the second player in NFL history, after Aaron Rodgers, to record a cumulative total quarterback rating of 115 or greater in his first two starts.

[56] Purdy finished the regular season throwing for 1,374 yards for 13 touchdowns and four interceptions, winning all five of his starts and leading the 49ers to the second seed in the playoffs.

With the 49ers' subsequent 19–12 victory in the Divisional Round over the Dallas Cowboys, Purdy became the third quarterback since 1970 to win two playoff games in his rookie season.

[65] Purdy was diagnosed with a complete tear of his ulnar collateral ligament, which rendered him unable to throw the ball more than 10 yards.

[66][67] After a successful recovery from injury, Purdy was named the starting quarterback to begin the 2023 season, over Sam Darnold, Brandon Allen, and Trey Lance, the lattermost later being traded to the Cowboys.

[68] During the season-opening 30–7 road victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Purdy completed 19-of-29 passing attempts for 220 yards, two touchdowns (both to Brandon Aiyuk), and a passer rating of 111.3.

With this victory, Purdy became the fourth quarterback in NFL history (after Kurt Warner, Peyton Manning, and Tom Brady) to lead a team that scored 30 points or more in at least 8 consecutive regular season games.

[71] The following week against the Cleveland Browns, Purdy suffered his first regular season loss after rookie kicker Jake Moody missed a 41-yard field goal as time expired in the fourth quarter.

Purdy finished the narrow 19–17 road loss completing 12-of-27 passes for 125 yards, a touchdown, and an interception for a 55.3 passer rating.

[72] Purdy entered concussion protocol following a Week 7 road loss to the Minnesota Vikings after experiencing symptoms on the flight home.

[74][75] During a Week 10 34–3 road victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, Purdy threw for 296 yards and three touchdowns, setting a new career record passer rating of 148.9.

[82] During a Week 15 45–29 road victory over the Cardinals, Purdy led the 49ers to a second consecutive NFC West title as he completed 16-of-25 passes for 245 yards and four touchdowns with a passer rating of 135.3.

[90] At home against the Green Bay Packers in the Divisional Round, Purdy struggled with accuracy in rainy conditions as the 49ers trailed entering the fourth quarter.

Despite his struggles, Purdy engineered a 12-play, 69-yard drive that culminated with Christian McCaffrey scoring a go-ahead touchdown with under two minutes left as the 49ers won 24–21.

[92] In the NFC Championship Game against the Detroit Lions, Purdy only completed seven of his 15 pass attempts for 93 yards and an interception as San Francisco trailed 24–7 at halftime.

This statistical regression in comparison to his 2023 campaign was largely attributed to injuries suffered by several of the 49ers' most productive pass-catchers, with both Brandon Aiyuk and Christian McCaffrey absent for the majority of the season.

[102] In addition to Aiyuk and McCaffrey, Trent Williams, Nick Bosa, Dre Greenlaw, Talanoa Hufanga, Jordan Mason, and Mitch Wishnowsky all missed significant playing time.