How Purdy balances throwing ball away given 49ers’ playmakers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Between his youth football days growing up, to lining up with the 49ers’ embarrassment of offensive riches, Brock Purdy still is learning that there are some plays that he needs to cut bait on.

Purdy, with just seven regular-season NFL games and two-plus playoff contests under his belt, was asked Thursday about the concept of throwing a ball away when there’s nothing to gain on a certain play even though he has electric playmakers at his disposal.

“We all know that if I can get the ball to Christian [McCaffrey], Deebo [Samuel], B.A. [Brandon Aiyuk], George [Kittle] on a 2-yard pass, and then they can make something crazy happen,” Purdy told reporters after 49ers practice. “So, I feel like it’s definitely always in the back of my mind, but at the same time, it’s like we’re all human. They can get tackled or something crazy can happen if I do try to force it, so just throw it away. So yeah, it’s something I’m continuing to learn.”

Purdy completed 19 of his 29 attempts while throwing two touchdown passes in the 49ers’ 30-7 Week 1 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers last Sunday.

Purdy was sacked three times by Steelers star T.J. Watt, but the second-year pro didn’t make many other noteworthy mistakes in his first regular-season game since sustaining a torn UCL in his throwing elbow during the NFC Championship Game in January.

But 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan was seen during the game imparting decision-making wisdom on his young quarterback.

“I feel like growing up, playing football, all that stuff, it’s always been like, ‘Man, I can always have a chance in a play, even if it’s not there,’ ” Purdy said. “And so sometimes to be able to just surrender for a play, yeah, it’s sort of tough. Like, ‘Man, I got to throw the ball away and lose second down to play third down now.’ So, sometimes there’s certain situations where it’s like, ‘Man, I feel like I could do…