placeholder image

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports


Carr: Sam Darnold might have more ability than Brock Purdy, could be 49ers’ Week 1 starter

Mar 30, 2023 at 9:21 AM--


Videos are auto-populated by an affiliate. This site has no control over the videos that appear above.
On Tuesday, NFL insider Ian Rapport, one of the NFL's most plugged-in reporters, made headlines declaring that, given the situation with the San Francisco 49ers, Sam Darnold would be the team's most likely Week 1 starting quarterback.

"We do not know what Trey Lance is going to be if he continues the trajectory that he's been on," Ian Rapoport said on NFL Network. "And I think, certainly, it seems Sam Darnold will more likely than not be the starter going into the season, but there is an opportunity for someone to step in there and start [the] first couple of games of the regular season for the 49ers."

Lance, the No. 3 overall draft pick in 2021, and Darnold, added this month via free agency, are expected to share practice reps this offseason. That could turn into a battle to be the 49ers' Week 1 starter. The quarterback Lynch called the "leader in the clubhouse," Brock Purdy, may not be available until early September at the soonest.

"It might be Week 1," head coach Kyle Shanahan said this week. "I think I'm hearing, at the latest, Week 4. But that's just all estimations, and we'll see what happens."

One of Rapoport's NFL Network colleagues, David Carr, also believes it might be Darnold, not Lance, on the field with the starters come Week 1.

"Trey Lance is still unproven in this league," Carr said on-air. "And so you insert Sam Darnold, who I think belongs in this system. I've actually been saying for the last couple of years [that] he would be great in a system like this.

"He finds himself with a great football team. I would even argue that he might have a little bit more ability than Brock Purdy. Although Brock again played great, fantastic as a rookie, I think Sam has a little more down-the-field ability and a lot of the same ability to move, ability to buy time, delegate the football.

"[Darnold] had a good year last year. He's going to enter this thing with a lot of reps. Trey is unproven. Sam is kind of proven in this league. So I think it's going to be very interesting. I wouldn't be surprised if Sam starts Week 1 and then Brock kind of comes in and does kind of what he did last year."

The analyst notes that Shanahan has a lot of confidence in his team and play-calling ability. Carr adds that the coach believes he can win with any of his three quarterbacks, suggesting they might be somewhat interchangeable in Shanahan's mind.

"I've talked to Kyle in the last few weeks, and you could just feel that," Carr said. "You can hear him in the press conferences, when he talks at the owners' meetings, he's like, 'No, I think this is going to be fun. This is the situation that we found ourselves in.'"

Purdy is recovering from March 10 surgery to repair the tear of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow, an injury suffered against the Philadelphia Eagles during the NFC Championship Game. The quarterback finished his rookie regular season completing 67.1 percent of his passes for 1,374 yards with 13 touchdowns and four interceptions after replacing an injured Jimmy Garoppolo in Week 13.

Purdy added 569 passing yards with three touchdowns in the playoffs but only managed four passing attempts in the NFC title game because of the injury.

"Brock played excellent football," Carr added. "Me and [Brian Baldinger] were talking about his ability. They plugged him in and didn't lose a game until he got knocked out against Philly. He played very well."



Facebook Comments



More San Francisco 49ers News


placeholder image

Is new 49ers backup QB Josh Dobbs an upgrade over Sam Darnold?

By Marc Adams
Mar 24

In 2022, the San Francisco 49ers seemed to have an embarrassment of riches at the quarterback spot. They had second-year player, and first-year starter Trey Lance, who they had traded the world away to draft. They had Jimmy Garoppolo, the team's starting QB from late 2017-2021, as Lance's backup. And they had a seventh-round draft pick in Brock Purdy, though he would be unlikely to play. Or so we thought. After Lance and Garoppolo went down, Purdy surprised everyone by keeping the ship afloat and leading the 49ers back to the NFC Championship Game. But after an injury to the UCL in his throwing arm, Purdy's 2023 season was in jeopardy. Which quarterbacks the 49ers would take to training camp was now even more important. They still had Lance, but they added Brandon Allen and


placeholder image

49ers: Newlyweds Brock and Jenna Purdy share photos from honeymoon

By David Bonilla
Mar 21

Earlier this month, Brock Purdy tied the knot with his fiancée, now Jenna Purdy, in Des Moines, Iowa. The San Francisco 49ers quarterback's lovely wife recently shared photos from the couple's honeymoon in the Turks and Caicos Islands. "Honeymoon w/ my husband," Jenna captioned on Instagram as part of a series of photos shared this


placeholder image

Andy Reid praises 49ers' Brock Purdy, has advice for Kyle Shanahan

By David Bonilla
Mar 25

Super Bowl-winning head coach Andy Reid of the Kansas City Chiefs witnessed all he needed from Brock Purdy last season to assure him that the San Francisco 49ers are in capable hands at the quarterback position. Purdy was an MVP nominee in 2023 and had his 49ers just a play or two away from clinching a Super Bowl victory away from the Chiefs. Unfortunately, for Purdy and the 49ers, Reid and his own quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, widely regarded as the best in the game today, dashed their Super Bowl dreams in overtime last month. According to NBC Sports Bay Area, speaking at the NFL owners meetings on Monday, Reid stated, "Yeah, I


placeholder image

Kyle Shanahan: 49ers hope to keep Brandon Aiyuk, Brock Purdy together

By David Bonilla
Mar 26

Last week, San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan ran into his wide receiver, Brandon Aiyuk, while on vacation in Cabo San Lucas. "He was randomly at our hotel. I don't think he wanted to be," the coach shared on Tuesday while speaking to reporters at the NFL owners meetings. The 49ers are currently negotiating a long-term extension with Aiyuk to ensure he remains with the team for the foreseeable future. However, with it only being March, it's challenging to predict how everything will unfold. Typically, under the leadership of Shanahan and general manager John Lynch, the 49ers have reached agreements with their star players closer to training camp in July. Lynch stated yesterday that the


Latest

Trending News

Share 49ersWebzone