Never a dull moment, indeed. As Al Sacco of the 49ers Webzone No Huddle podcast often points out, there is always some drama brewing with the San Francisco 49ers.
When it looked like the starting quarterback job would be Brock Purdy's to lose this offseason, the rookie quarterback suffered a serious injury in the NFC Championship Game, ending the 49ers' hopes of returning to the Super Bowl. On February 22, Purdy will undergo surgery to repair the tear of his right elbow's ulnar collateral ligament (UCL). He will miss an estimated six months.
That timeline makes Purdy available for the start of the regular season, maybe even part of training camp if his recovery goes better than expected.
That leaves Trey Lance, the No. 3 overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, as the healthiest 49ers quarterback under contract. Of course, he is still recovering from the season-ending ankle injury suffered during Week 2. Lance expects to be full-go by the start of organized team activities (OTAs) in May.
Quarterback uncertainty has been an ongoing storyline with the 49ers. The team's two most experienced passers, Jimmy Garoppolo and Josh Johnson, are scheduled to become free agents. That leaves a still inexperienced Lance and a recovering Purdy as the featured names in the latest chapter of the quarterback drama.
That has NFL.com's Dan Hanzus intrigued. In his recent post-Super Bowl power ranking, Hanzus listed the 49ers as the fourth-best team in the league, with only the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, and Cincinnati Bengals ranked higher.
"Another offseason with intrigue at the quarterback position in San Francisco," wrote Hanzus. "Brock Purdy was a revelation during his scorching run to the NFC title game, but a serious elbow injury puts his summer availability in doubt. Purdy's misfortune seems to have opened up a huge window of opportunity for Trey Lance, the former No. 3 overall pick currently in line to gobble up first-team reps throughout the offseason program.
"We could be headed toward a true training camp competition between the young passers after Jimmy Garoppolo finds a new home in free agency. Never a dull QB moment by the Bay."
Indeed.