Brock Purdy doesn't bother with any criticisms from outside the 49ers' facility, but that doesn't mean the young quarterback isn't aware of what is being said about him.
Last month, Fox Sports' Colin Cowherd notably voiced displeasure with Purdy's decision to wear a backward hat at the podium during press conferences, questioning the budding star's professionalism.
When asked if he consciously decided to wear his hat forward while speaking to reporters on Thursday, Purdy took the opportunity to make a playful remark in response to Cowherd's criticism of his wardrobe decisions.
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"Nah, I did not. I just happened to be," Purdy told reporters. "I had hat head coming in here, so I put it on forward … I did a little growing up."
Back in November, Cowherd shared that Purdy's choice to wear his hat backward gave him reservations about the team.
"There is one thing that does make me pause on San Francisco," Cowherd said on "The Herd." "Brock Purdy, 'Hey, you guys want to hit some golf balls?' You got a hat on backward. He's not a franchise quarterback.
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"If that guy came to move your couch, you'd be like, 'Are you a professional?'… His dad needs to call him and say, turn that thing around."
Backwards hat or not, Purdy has performed at an elite level for the majority of the 2023 NFL season, still posting a league-leading 112.2 passer rating even after an abysmal outing in Monday night's loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
Following the loss, Purdy revealed his hat change wasn't the only thing he took away from a humbling Christmas night performance.
"It's such a good learning experience. It's not to say I'm going to be perfect moving forward, it's football, you're not perfect," Purdy told reporters. "But for me, I think it was huge just in terms of being a quarterback in this league.
"When things are going well, people can say some great things and it's easy to buy into it a little bit. But you've got to put your head down, go to work, have that chip on your shoulder still and still prove to yourself that you've got to continue to show your teammates that you're the guy week in and week out. So definitely something for me to learn from."
The young quarterback will have a chance to rebound from his latest performance when the 49ers take on the Washington Commanders on Sunday at FedEx Field.
Another strong outing from Purdy might quell Cowherd's concerns moving forward about the 24-year-old signal-caller.
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