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San Francisco's offseason was headlined by the NFL Draft, during which it selected quarterback
Trey Lance with the third overall pick.
Out of North Dakota State, Lance is still developing as a thrower with accuracy, and should not be thrown in immediately as the starting quarterback.
Incumbent starter Jimmy Garoppolo has been a valuable starter for the 49ers when healthy, as he has gone 24–9, including 2–1 in the playoffs.
However, Garoppolo has not always been healthy, as he tore his ACL during the 2018 season, and ankle injuries limited him to six games last season.
Still, his impact has been irreplaceable, as other 49ers starters, being it Nick Mullens or C.J. Beathard, have gone 6–17 during that same period of time.
Trey Lance can undoubtedly become a better option for the 49ers at one point in his career, but with a reliable starter when healthy, there is no need to rush Lance onto the field.
Despite drafting Lance and publicly stating they would draft a quarterback, the 49ers have operated this offseason with the assumption that Garoppolo will be on the roster to begin the season.
In multiple press conferences, Shanahan has reiterated that Garoppolo will be their starting quarterback, and even went as far to state that it will be hard for Lance to beat out the current starter for the starting job.
Despite many hopefuls begging for Garoppolo to be cut for cap reasons, at this point, he gives the 49ers the best chance to win football games on Sundays, and can be the perfect bridge quarterback to the rookie Trey Lance.
One of Garoppolo's strengths has been accuracy, as he threw for a 69% completion rate in 2019, and a 67% completion rate in his shortened 2020.
More importantly, the 49ers should be more inclined to keep the quarterback in order to increase his trade value before shipping him off next season. While his salary remains high, another good season from the starter could result in a valuable return, which is needed for a team devoid of draft capital.
At the moment, the market is nonexistent for the quarterback, with many teams content with their current options, so it would not be wise to try and move him now, but rather wait till next year to get value for Garoppolo.
In the meantime, with a schedule consisting of favorable teams, but also a fair share of playoff-caliber teams, Garoppolo should be able to produce as a starter and his experience will certainly help the 49ers on their playoff push.
While Trey Lance would definitely open up the playbook for Kyle Shanahan, there have been one too many times when rookie quarterbacks were thrust into the spotlight too early, and failed to develop because of it.
Just look at Josh Rosen. Hell, you could even consider Mitchell Trubisky. Both of these quarterbacks started immediately, and were thrust into the spotlight before having time to refine mistakes.
Especially in COVID times when quarterbacks may not have as much access to coaches, teammates, and facilities as they typically would, it is very important for the 49ers to hit on their draft pick, and the best way to do so is to wait for Lance to be ready, be it this season or next, and have Jimmy Garoppolo start the 2021 season as the starting quarterback.
According to head coach Kyle Shanahan, the San Francisco 49ers have not discussed a potential trade with quarterback Trey Lance. That shouldn't surprise anyone, but the coach was asked about trade discussions after Tuesday's practice.
Second-year quarterback Brock Purdy is trending well in his recovery from surgery to repair the torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow. He is doing some limited throwing about three times a week and will ramp up his workload in the coming months.
RELATED: Kyle Shanahan: 49ers QB Brock Purdy throwing 3 times a week, "right on track" with recovery
The 49ers remain optimistic that Purdy
The San Francisco 49ers expect their second-year quarterback, Brock Purdy, to start throwing again this week. Purdy underwent surgery on March 10 to repair the tear of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow, an injury sustained on January 29 in the NFC Championship Game. The expectations were always for the quarterback to start throwing again in early June.
Purdy won't be doing anything excessive at first. He will likely be limited as this portion of his rehabilitation begins, and his workload will ramp up in the coming months.
Purdy's return timeline remains up in the air. However, the team will know more once he starts throwing again. Head
Everyone is trying to predict the San Francisco 49ers' starting quarterback when the team takes the field during Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Will it be Brock Purdy, Trey Lance, or Sam Darnold?
Purdy started some light throwing this week while under some careful supervision. He is nearly three months removed from the surgery to repair the tear of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow, an injury suffered during the NFC Championship Game.
Purdy's workload will ramp up, and the 49ers remain hopeful that he can begin throwing normally before the start of the regular season—maybe even sometime during training camp. The second-year quarterback hasn't had any setbacks, so that is certainly
What happens if Sam Darnold beats out Trey Lance? We're answering this question and others in this week's edition of the 49ers Webzone Mailbag.
It's week two of OTAs, and the 49ers will have a session open to the media on Wednesday. It may even be happening as you're reading this. And Brock Purdy is believed to start throwing a ball this week (though probably not a regular football).
But for now, ignore those reports, and let's jump into our latest mailbag and answer your questions.
Who's starting on Opening Day at FS? - Chris W.
The 49ers re-signed veteran free safety Tashaun Gipson to a one-year deal and drafted Penn State safety Ji'Ayir Brown back in April. Brown is the future starting free safety. That future is most likely to
