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If the San Francisco 49ers reach the NFC Championship Game during the upcoming season, it will be the fourth time they have done so in five years. However, it's still unclear which quarterback could be the one to get them there.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have
declared that the starting job is
Brock Purdy's to lose. All things being equal, he would likely be the undisputed QB1 this offseason. Things are a bit murkier at the moment, though.
On March 10, Purdy underwent surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) tear in his right elbow. That has put his Week 1 availability in jeopardy. The situation leaves former No. 3 overall picks Trey Lance and Sam Darnold to compete to start the regular season should Purdy not be ready.
Shanahan tends to stick with the hot hand, so if one of the two impresses out of the gate, the coach may hesitate to change quarterbacks once Purdy is medically cleared.
One ESPN analyst believes the 49ers can return to the NFC Championship Game with Darnold at the helm of the offense.
"Sam Darnold is absolutely capable of taking this team back to the NFC Championship Game," Dan Orlovsky said Monday morning on ESPN's
Get Up, per
Angelina Martin of NBC Sports Bay Area. "I'm so excited to watch him if he's the guy in San Francisco with Brock Purdy a little bit banged up. Finally at a place that has the coaching, the offensive talent, the complete team to allow his talent -- one of the best talents that we've seen come out of college in years.
"I'm so excited, and I think he could be the guy that brings them back to the NFC Championship Game."
Orlovsky isn't the only one to recently praise the former New York Jets and Carolina Panthers quarterback. One 49ers insider's comments during a radio interview last week went viral.
"Sam Darnold might be the most—can I say this—the
most talented thrower of the football that the 49ers have ever had," NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco said on KNBR. "... I think that he hasn't had really any chance to succeed since his college days [were] over. I think he's had like four head coaches in five years, five offensive coordinators in five years. He's a talented guy."
The respected 49ers reporter later clarified his comments.
"
The wording made it clear Darnold also might not be the most talented thrower of the football the 49ers have ever had," Maiocco later wrote. "... But the statement that Darnold is physically-gifted should not be considered the least-bit controversial.
"After all, Darnold was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. His ability to throw the football is what made him a high draft pick out of USC."
According to Sports Illustrated contributor Noah Strackbein, who writes for "All Steelers" on the network, there's a level of confidence within the Pittsburgh Steelers organization that they can strike a deal for San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk—and at a bargain rate.
"According to a team source, the Steelers and 49ers trade talks are real," Strackbein wrote. "While nothing is imminent, they 'would be surprised if it didn't happen.' But it all comes down to compensation, and Pittsburgh isn't willing to budge much on price."
While it seems unlikely that the 49ers would part ways with Aiyuk for anything less than a first-round draft
Austin Jones, the running back who spent three seasons with Stanford and the past two with USC, was among the 44 players in attendance at the San Francisco 49ers local pro day on April 10. Justin Melo of The Draft Network reports that the Bay Area team is keeping tabs on the Pac-12 standout.
After attending #Raiders, #49ers and
The San Francisco 49ers announced the signing of wide receiver Trent Taylor to a one-year deal, reuniting with the team's former fifth-round draft pick out of Louisiana Tech.
Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area was the first to report that the 49ers were discussing a potential reunion with Taylor. The receiver was part of head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch's first draft class in 2017 and spent his first four NFL seasons with the team.
The #49ers are talking with free-agent slot receiver/return man
The San Francisco 49ers are hosting several draft prospects this week as the deadline for pre-draft visits draws near. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2, the team will host former Western Kentucky wide receiver Malachi Corley on Wednesday.
Corley is expected to be a Day 2 pick. San Francisco owns two selections on Day 2—the No. 63 overall pick in the second round and the No. 94 overall pick in the third round. Currently, the receiver is visiting with the Seattle Seahawks.
Western Kentucky @WKUFootball receiver Malachi Worley
