Mike Florio, never afraid to share his opinion, no matter how unpopular, predicts that Trey Lance will remain on the San Francisco 49ers roster heading into the 2023 season—but not as starter Brock Purdy's backup. The Pro Football Talk writer joined "The Rich Eisen Show" on Tuesday and predicted the 49ers' final quarterback depth chart heading into the regular season.
"I think as long as Brock Purdy's healthy, he's going to be the guy Week 1," Florio told Eisen. "But I also believe if there's any hitch in Purdy's recovery from that shoulder surgery, it's Sam Darnold."
The good news is that Purdy is trending toward being the Week 1 starter. The quarterback underwent surgery in March to repair the torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow. While most didn't expect him back on the practice field until the second half of August, general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan surprised everyone on Tuesday, saying Purdy has been cleared to practice.
"Brock's cleared and ready to go," Lynch said. "He's been cleared. He's going to be without restrictions."
Where does that leave Lance? Fighting for the top backup job. Of course, Florio still doesn't foresee the former No. 3 overall pick beating out Darnold, an opinion he has held all offseason.
"They've been working hard to get people to understand that even though Trey Lance was the third overall pick and they ultimately invested three first-round picks and a third-round pick to get him, Darnold is the guy above Lance on the depth chart," Florio said. "And Lance is the guy they're just keeping around as the emergency option because last year they had to use their emergency option."
Purdy was that emergency option last season. The then-rookie became the starter after Lance suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Week 2 and Jimmy Garoppolo broke his foot in Week 13. Purdy impressed his team so much that Lynch and Shanahan declared him the "leader in the clubhouse" early on to be the starter.
"So I think that's how it goes," Florio continued. "Purdy, if healthy, then Darnold, then Lance, and they keep all three because they may have to use all three."
Florio doesn't dismiss the possibility that the 49ers might still trade Lance. Of course, another team would have to make an offer. An injury to a starting quarterback elsewhere might prompt a move, but the writer notes something like that is rare in the NFL these days.
"If you would have that happen and somebody shows up offering a one and a four like the Vikings offered to get Sam Bradford seven years ago, then that's when the 49ers would get somebody else ready to be their third quarterback," Florio said.
That would probably be Brandon Allen, the fourth quarterback on the roster. He most recently served as Joe Burrow's backup in Cincinnati.
"But until they get that kind of an offer, they're going to keep them around because, look, they had to use their third quarterback last year, and their third quarterback ended up playing well," Florio said. "And maybe those are the circumstances where Lance would finally play well. Kid's under a ton of pressure, everything they gave up to get him, all the expectations, the whole Jimmy Garoppolo back-and-forth. Then, are they going to use him as a rookie? They didn't use him much as a rookie. He plays last year, he breaks his ankle.
"Maybe the best way for him to finally prove himself is if he just gets thrust into service because the two guys in front of him get injured. And the way it's gone for the 49ers—I don't know what they did to piss off the football gods—they just can't keep their quarterbacks healthy."
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