Jerry Rice has high expectations for his former team, the San Francisco 49ers. He knows the team boasts one of the more impressive rosters in the NFL. The only real question mark is at quarterback. However, the Hall of Fame receiver believes there is enough talent at the position to take the 49ers far during the upcoming season.
Brock Purdy is still recovering from surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) he tore in his right elbow. The quarterback is expected to return sometime during the second half of August, in time to prepare to be the Week 1 starter.
A healthy Purdy is the frontrunner to start Week 1, despite missing most of the offseason.
"I think the thing is, with Brock, he deserves to be the starter," Rice told Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area during an interview on the "49ers Talk" podcast. "Look what he did last year and what he was able to accomplish. That injury that happened in Philadelphia, if that injury hadn't happened, I felt like we were going to win the whole thing last year.
"He got that starting position, but just in case something happens to him, Trey Lance has got to be ready to go."
Lance entered last season as the starting quarterback. That ended when he suffered a season-ending ankle injury during Week 2. The 23-year-old quarterback is competing with Sam Darnold for the QB2 job behind Purdy. Rice expects Lance to beat out the veteran.
"Trey Lance, I heard he made significant progress during the offseason," Rice explained. "I saw him doing stuff with Patrick Mahomes and doing all that. It's great competition, but I think the third [QB] is going to be Sam Darnold."
The 49ers made Lance the No. 3 overall pick in 2021. The young quarterback sat behind Jimmy Garoppolo during his rookie season, starting two games despite dealing with a finger injury. His first game as the full-time starter was played in monsoon-like conditions. Then, the week after that, Lance suffered his injury.
What does Rice think about the last overall pick in last year's draft starting over a former first-round pick, a player whom the 49ers gave up a lot to acquire?
"Sometimes you roll the dice, and it doesn't fall in your favor," Rice shared. "That's just like when they said this guy from Mississippi Valley State University, and Bill Walsh made him the 16th pick, so you never know. And I think it's just been unfortunate with Trey Lance. He hasn't been able to perform at his best. He's been injured. And now, he's just going to have to be ready just in case Brock Purdy goes down."
While Rice hopes Purdy can stay healthy in 2023, he's confident the depth is there to overcome any unexpected injuries.
"What I would like to see play out is that whoever starts the season finishes the season," Rice said of his expectations for the quarterback position. "That's my main thing right now. I don't want this quarterback carousel and stuff like that. Brock is the guy that, with [head coach] Kyle Shanahan and also [general manager] John Lynch, they said he's the legitimate starter.
"So the other guys are going to have to compete. But I feel like we got a great legitimate third quarterback now, just in case we go through some adversity, some injuries, and stuff like that."
As for the team, anything less than a Super Bowl win would be a disappointment in the eyes of the greatest receiver to ever play the game.
"I think the state of the San Francisco 49ers is that we should win it all," Rice stated. "That should be the main focus with the players going to training camp. They know they have all the pieces of the puzzle. We have legitimate quarterbacks, we got a great defense, and now it's just time to go out there and play. So the expectations are very high, and I think we should win it."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Rice below.