Jim Dedmon/Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
The San Francisco 49ers have a lot of faith in last year's seventh-round draft pick, quarterback
Brock Purdy. All things being equal, Purdy would be written in as the Week 1 starter—with permanent ink.
The reality is that the Niners don't know who their Week 1 starter will be. It might be Purdy, who is recovering from surgery in March to repair the tear of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow, an injury suffered in the NFC Championship Game. The issue is that such a surgery typically includes a six-month recovery time.
It could be shorter. It could be longer.
The situation has created an opportunity for two other quarterbacks on the roster—
Trey Lance and
Sam Darnold. The two will split practice reps this offseason. One could start Week 1 if Purdy isn't back by then.
"The truth is, this creates a golden opportunity for those two," Albert Breer wrote in a
mailbag for Sports Illustrated. "At best, Purdy will miss a good chunk of the summer and be hustling to get back for the opener. At worst, one of the two presumed backups will start the season. Either way, the chance is there for either Darnold or Lance to put some level of doubt in the Niners' heads on who to go with at quarterback, and also create some buzz that could generate outside interest in 2024."
Purdy will begin throwing footballs again next month. The 49ers won't have a clearer picture of his status until then. The good news is that there have been no setbacks in the quarterback's recovery.
Purdy has been with his teammates since the 49ers started their offseason program a month ago. They will begin organized team activities (OTAs) next week.
"As long as Brock's elbow heals right,
he'll be the exact same guy," head coach Kyle Shanahan said last week. "And when you have a clean break like that or tear, it will be. You can have a setback, and you can have something heal wrong, but everything's been completely on pace.
"And just watching him now, he's doing the same drills all the other quarterbacks are doing. He's just using a towel to throw, but still doing violent motion, still moving it. He's just not doing with the football. He'll get closer to that, and as long as there's not a setback, we think he'll be there in training camp."
Training camp begins at the end of July and runs through August, so there is a chance that Purdy could be back sometime before the end of camp. In the meantime, can Lance or Darnold do anything to climb the depth chart?
Breer added, "And I say all that with the acknowledgment that the Niners
love Purdy, and view him as more than a plucky seventh-round pick who helped them in a bind last year—which means it'll be an interesting spring and summer in Santa Clara, regardless of how this plays out."
It's premature to draw conclusions about a quarterback based on practices in May. That is especially true when you do so based on one practice. The San Francisco 49ers started organized team activities (OTAs) this week, and all eyes were on Trey Lance and Sam Darnold.
The two players are battling for that QB2 job behind last season's rookie sensation, Brock Purdy. One could even start Week 1 if Purdy is not healthy enough to do so himself.
Lance is coming off a season-ending ankle injury but looks completely healthy now. Darnold is trying to turn his career around after never living up to his high draft status.
Matt Barrows of The Athletic was on hand for Tuesday's practice, the only one open to reporters so far, and one that Barrows describes as a
What happens if Sam Darnold beats out Trey Lance? We're answering this question and others in this week's edition of the 49ers Webzone Mailbag.
It's week two of OTAs, and the 49ers will have a session open to the media on Wednesday. It may even be happening as you're reading this. And Brock Purdy is believed to start throwing a ball this week (though probably not a regular football).
But for now, ignore those reports, and let's jump into our latest mailbag and answer your questions.
Who's starting on Opening Day at FS? - Chris W.
The 49ers re-signed veteran free safety Tashaun Gipson to a one-year deal and drafted Penn State safety Ji'Ayir Brown back in April. Brown is the future starting free safety. That future is most likely to
The San Francisco 49ers started organized team activities (OTAs) this week. They held their first practice on Monday. Tuesday was the first session open to the media, and reporters got glimpses of quarterbacks Trey Lance and Sam Darnold throwing, along with the rest of the team's work.
Lance and Darnold are competing for that QB2 spot behind a sidelined Brock Purdy. One could even be the starting quarterback when San Francisco's regular season kicks off on September 10, assuming Purdy isn't yet available.
Below are some videos from Tuesday's practice that various sources
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and quarterbacks Brock Purdy, Trey Lance, and Sam Darnold spoke with reporters after Tuesday's practice, the second of organized team activities (OTAs). Here is everything they had to say.
Transcript provided by the San Francisco 49ers Communications staff.
Head Coach Kyle Shanahan
WR Jauan Jennings was working on the side field, did he have any issues?
"He just had a little tightness. We're being safe with him. Same with [WR Brandon Aiyuk] B. A., both of them, same boat."
What's the thought process behind that last drill that you guys do? 11-on-11, no helmets.
"Just try to ease them into that. It's something that I never
