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Kyle Shanahan has always been a fan of Sam Darnold. That's why the San Francisco 49ers head coach was eager to sign the veteran quarterback this offseason. Darnold's impressive performance secured him the QB2 job, leading to the trade of Trey Lance to the Dallas Cowboys.
Darnold has a chance to make his first start in red and gold. This, of course, hinges on the condition of Brock Purdy, who is currently in the concussion protocol. More on that further below.
Shanahan has a lot of confidence that the 49ers offense won't skip a beat if Darnold takes the helm against the Cincinnati Bengals this Sunday.
"I'll be excited for Sam to come in," Shanahan told KNBR's Tom Tolbert on Thursday. "I mean, Sam has done a lot of good things since he's been here. He looks great on the practice field. Got to play with him in a couple of preseason games.
"But when you go into an NFL game with someone for the first time, there's always some newness to both of us. Just feeling it out, feeling with the team. But Sam's played a lot of football, and when he gets out here, he's got such command, got a ton of confidence.
"The guys around here, they believe in him a ton. They're amazed with how good he is throwing the football and stuff, some of the throws he makes on scout team, what he did throughout training camp. And if his opportunity with us for the first time is this Sunday, he'll be ready to go, and our guys will be excited to follow him."
One player who stands firmly behind Darnold is cornerback Charvarius Ward. When asked about his expectations if the veteran quarterback has to start against the Bengals, Ward expressed complete confidence.
"I expect us to win, same as I do with Brock," the cornerback told Mike Silver of the San Francisco Chronicle. "Darnold's a seasoned vet. He's played six years; he came in the NFL with me. I expect him to come in and sling that m— around. Ain't no drop-off. We're good."
Regarding Purdy's status, Shanahan acknowledged that much of it is beyond his control. The quarterback needs clearance from an independent evaluator to be eligible for Sunday's game. The good news is that Purdy practiced on Thursday, albeit as a limited participant. Still, that bodes well for his availability.
"It's actually real simple for us," Shanahan said. "I mean, it's tough in terms of the protocol stretches throughout the whole week, so you never know for sure, but there's all these stages they got to go through, and if they pass everything and they have no symptoms and stuff, then they usually pass, and you're good to go, and there's no issues. And if things pop up during the week, then they don't pass, and they can't go, and there's no discussion.
"So you just wait, and you see. You've got to always have plans for both because you never know how they're going to end up, but we'll find out sooner than later."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Shanahan below.
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