Baldy: 49ers have a “chance to be a special team,” QB2 battle is the one to watch

One respected NFL analyst is excited to see what the San Francisco 49ers do in 2023 with a healthy Brock Purdy under center and all the talent around him. The team has been in the NFC Championship Game in three of the last four seasons and has playmakers almost everywhere you look.

Purdy is expected to return as the starting quarterback once he is fully recovered from the surgery he underwent in March to repair the torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow.

"Brock Purdy was awesome," Brian Baldinger said Friday on Audacy's In The Huddle podcast. "I mean, counting the playoffs, he was 16 touchdowns, four interceptions. But more importantly, guys like [TE] George Kittle, seven touchdown catches in his limited play with Brock Purdy. Seven of his eleven came from Brock.

"But everybody, everybody got fed. [RB Christian] McCaffrey, [WR Brandon] Aiyuk had his first 1,000-yard season. [WR] Deebo [Samuel] came back from injury. You know, they were dynamic."

Baldinger acknowledges at least one question mark on offense—along the offensive line. The unit lost its starting right tackle, Mike McGlinchey, in free agency. Fourth-year offensive lineman Colton McKivitz is the favorite to replace McGlinchey.

Still, even with some uncertainty at certain positions, Baldinger remains very high on Kyle Shanahan's well-coached squad.

"This has a chance to be a special team," Baldinger continued. "They got to go do it. Nobody's just going to anoint them. They're not going to just put them on the mantle in Las Vegas in February and say, 'Go win a Super Bowl.' They got to go do it."

Everything hinges on Purdy's health. The 49ers remain hopeful that their second-year quarterback can be the Week 1 starter. The team is optimistic that Purdy can start practicing again during the second half of August, in time to participate in the tail end of training camp.

"From everything I heard, Brock Purdy is on schedule or ahead of schedule," Baldinger said. "He's now throwing with the quarterback coach. You're not going to put him out there to throw with a coach and working on techniques, fundamentals, if you can't throw. So it looks like he's going to be ready to go."

Trey Lance and Sam Darnold, both former No. 3 overall picks, are competing for the QB2 job. Lance was the 49ers' starter entering the 2022 season but suffered a season-ending ankle injury during Week 2. Darnold joined San Francisco as a free agent this offseason.

Baldinger believes that's the training-camp competition to keep an eye on.

"And people go, why is there a battle? Why isn't Trey Lance the quarterback? Well, he started four games," Baldinger said. "He's thrown 100 passes in his career in two years. He just hasn't been available. And I'm not here to knock Trey Lance. I like him, personally, and I'd like to see him compete, but I think Sam Darnold is going to compete too.

"And so we have seen in San Francisco—Lord knows we have seen—you better get your backup quarterback ready to play. You just better, for whatever reason. That position has been hammered ever since Kyle's been there. And so you better get yourself a really ready-to-play number two quarterback, whoever that's going to be."