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Kyle Shanahan praises his quarterback room every year. Last season, the San Francisco 49ers went through three starting quarterbacks and still made it to the NFC Championship Game. Trey Lance was the Week 1 starter but suffered a season-ending ankle injury during his second game. Eleven weeks later, Jimmy Garoppolo sustained a broken foot.
That opened the door for rookie
Brock Purdy to show his coaches and the NFL world that he belonged, despite being the last overall pick in the draft. Purdy guided the 49ers to eight consecutive wins before suffering a severe injury in that NFC title game matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Two of the quarterbacks from last season—Lance and Purdy—remain. Both are just 23 years old. They are joined by
Sam Darnold, who is just 25. More recently, the 49ers added veteran Brandon Allen, the oldest of the group. He is 30 years old.
Is this the most talented quarterback room the 49ers have had during Shanahan's tenure?
"I don't know," the coach responded after being asked that question. "I don't want to compare it to other years, but we have two guys who are talented enough to be taken in the top five of the draft, and we have another guy who played like it last year."
Those first two guys are Lance and Darnold. Both were the No. 3 overall pick in their respective drafts—Lance in 2021 and Darnold in 2018. Lance lacks experience, starting just four games in his two NFL seasons. Darnold has significant experience, having 55 starts under his belt in five seasons, but he has never lived up to being a top-three pick.
Of course, Darnold has never been on a roster as talented as San Francisco's.
By the time the veteran quarterback hit free agency, Shanahan was very familiar with him. The 49ers studied Darnold entering that 2018 draft. The head coach was impressed by the former Trojan's veteran presence even then.
San Francisco continued its homework when he became available via a trade in 2021. Although, the New York Jets opted to ship the quarterback to the Carolina Panthers instead.
Darnold has been taking the approach of a rookie since joining the 49ers. After all, everything, including the system, is new to him.
"He doesn't want to make any assumptions, and he's been awesome in phase one and phase two, trying to do techniques he's not used to and things like that," Shanahan explained. "And it's been cool that he put in the work in those two phases that he's been able to use some of it here in these last two practices."
Lance thought he was progressing well heading into his rookie season. However, a broken right index finger during the preseason changed that. The quarterback struggled to compensate for the injury, which lasted into the following offseason.
"I think the biggest thing my rookie year was just learning," Lance shared, "being able to tie my feet to my arm, and tie my feet to my brain, and how we see concepts, and everything like that. The offense is very specific as far as just tying your feet to your progressions, and I don't think any offense in the country in college is like that, so it was definitely a learning curve for me."
There was also the issue of arm fatigue, a storyline Lance hopes to kill this year. The quarterback had been throwing almost nonstop from his last collegiate game on October 3, 2020, through the draft and offseason with the 49ers.
Lance worked with private quarterback coach Jeff Christensen this offseason to retool his throwing motion. The efforts have seemingly eliminated the issue.
While most view Allen as a camp body, Shanahan has been an admirer for some time. Allen has spent the past three seasons as Joe Burrow's backup in Cincinnati.
"I like the three guys we got, and I've always been a fan of Brandon Allen," Shanahan said. "Just watching him throughout his career and to be able to get him in here also, I feel really fortunate with our four."
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San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy threw for a franchise-record 4,280 yards last season, leading the team to the Super Bowl and earning his first Pro Bowl selection. He held onto the football 39 times on the ground, rushing for 144 yards and scoring twice. This marked a significant improvement over his rookie 2022 campaign when he had 22 carries for 13 yards and a score.
Purdy further displayed his athleticism during the 49ers' playoff game against the Detroit Lions last season, helping engineer a comeback victory while rushing for 48 yards on five carries.
On Tuesday morning, Purdy joined the "Pat McAfee Show," acknowledging that he believes he can contribute more rushing yards if called upon. However, that decision rests with head coach Kyle Shanahan,
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
Ian Rapoport didn't offer much of an update on the ongoing contract negotiations between the San Francisco 49ers and their standout wide receiver, Brandon Aiyuk. However, the NFL insider emphasized one thing: The team is not entertaining trade discussions at this juncture.
Reacting to Aiyuk's decision to unfollow the 49ers on Instagram, Rapoport couldn't help but chuckle at the latest development. This practice has become commonplace among players who are unhappy with their contract situations. Wide receiver Deebo Samuel similarly took this action in 2022 before requesting to be traded just before the draft.
Things have yet to escalate that far with Aiyuk, but Rapoport sees his
