The San Francisco 49ers have reportedly been handing the first-team reps to Trey Lance rather than Sam Darnold.
A big off-season awaits for the 49ers, with plenty of changes going on at the quarterback position. Jimmy Garoppolo left to sign for the Las Vegas Raiders, meaning a new starting QB will be needed for the 2023 regular season.
Brock Purdy staked a claim to be the starting quarterback for the 49ers in the second half of last season. But he suffered a serious elbow injury in the NFC Championship game loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, and is still in the process of recovering.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan admitted that he was uncertain if Purdy will be fit in time to be available for Week One. However, he did say that his QB will begin throwing the ball soon in the next step of his recovery and has seemingly indicated he is in line to be the starter if healthy.
"We're hoping for Week 1 and we feel pretty optimistic about that," Shanahan told reporters last week. "That's what we're hoping for.
“Usually you've got to come back before that to make that goal and that's kind of the goal we're hoping for and don't have any reason to think different."
With Purdy still an uncertainty in terms of fitness, and Garoppolo no longer in the building, the 49ers needed to go and sign a new QB. That ended up being Darnold, who arrived from the Carolina Panthers after one season at the Bank of America Stadium.
Darnold joins Lance, who will be in his third season with the 49ers. Lance was the number three overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. He was named the starter ahead of Garoppolo last off-season but picked up a season-ending knee injury in week two.
Shanahan has made it clear that he believes Purdy has earned the right to be the starter when he is fully fit. But, with question marks over his return, all eyes are on who is next in line.
And ESPN have reported that Lance has been handed all the first-team reps during the 49ers organised team activities (OTA) with Darnold working with the second-team group.
That would seemingly make it clear that Lance is No.2 on the depth chart, behind Purdy and ahead of Darnold, when all three quarterbacks are healthy. However, there will undoubtedly be plenty more twists and turns when training camp and pre-season get underway.
For the time being, it appears the 49ers are getting Lance in a more familiar position with the rest of the offense.. Lance has played just eight games in the two seasons he’s been with the 49ers, but he has the advantage of already knowing the team’s playbook which will give him an edge over Darnold.
Shanahan will be making sure Darnold gets fully to grips with the playbook in time for the new season, but it appears that he could be third choice QB should he, Lance and Purdy all be fit.
