There’s an air of uncertainty around what the 49ers are going to do under center this season. Quarterback Brock Purdy is still recovering from offseason elbow surgery, and QBs Trey Lance and Sam Darnold are duking it out for positioning on the depth chart. While there may be a lack of clarity going into training camp, there isn’t much complexity.
Purdy is going to start whenever he’s healthy. Head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch called him the leader in the clubhouse for the starting job. Now Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer and NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco are reporting Purdy will be the team’s starter in 2023. San Francisco is putting Purdy on a recovery track that puts him in line to play the season opener.
So, that’s the extent of the 49ers’ QB situation. Purdy will start with the winner of the Lance-Darnold battle landing as the backup. This is the team’s plan.
There are caveats here.
Perhaps Purdy has a physical setback or struggles with the mental hurdles of returning from a catastrophic injury to his throwing elbow. That would throw a wrench into things.
Lance did workout with Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes this offseason. Shanahan at the NFL owners’ meetings did leave the door open for one of Lance or Darnold to jump into the conversation for the starting spot, but it’s hard to envision that happening unless Lance becomes Mahomes or Darnold becomes the greatest quarterback in 49ers history.
Those caveats aren’t necessarily realistic though, and the decision makers in Santa Clara are very publicly high on Purdy after he went 7-1 as a starter last season with his lone loss coming in the NFC championship game.
There may be fans who want to see someone other than Purdy under center. They may want Lance to get a real chance to start games. Maybe some Darnold fans are pounding the table for him to be QB1 in red and gold. Brandon Allen, anyone? Okay, moving on.
Clarity is at a minimum with Purdy’s injury and the Lance-Darnold battle. Those are things we won’t know until we get through training camp. What we do know from what the 49ers have said publicly though is that Purdy is in line to be the team’s starter whenever’s he’s ready to play football again. It’s not much more complicated than that.
