Kittle says 49ers’ QB job is Purdy’s ‘to lose’; Lance eager to compete

As quarterback Brock Purdy prepares for elbow surgery on his throwing arm later this month, 49ers teammate George Kittle voiced his belief that the surprising rookie would remain the team’s starter heading into the 2023 season.

“He’s fantastic. Our offense [with Purdy] was operating at the highest it’s probably been since 2019,” Kittle said during an appearance on Bills star Von Miller’s podcast. “So in my opinion, it’s Brock’s job to lose.”

Before praising the former “Mr. Irrelevant” — Purdy was the last overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft — Kittle also acknowledged that Trey Lance, whom the 49ers traded up to No. 3 overall to draft in 2021, “has not really gotten a fair shot at being an NFL quarterback yet.”

Lance entered the 2022 season as the 49ers’ starter but suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Week 2. Still just 22 years old, Lance has played less than 16 quarters of football over the past two seasons.

“Trey’s still got plenty of talent, he’s just got to get out there and play,” Kittle said.

In a recent interview on “The Rich Eisen Show,” Lance said he was given no assurances from the Niners that he is their 2023 starter. He asserted he isn’t looking for any, either.

“Brock played way too well,” Lance said. “Brock played at such a high level and handled himself the right way, I wouldn’t want it to be a situation where I’m just handed something. I feel horrible for Brock with his injury.”

Purdy will reportedly undergo surgery on Feb. 22 to repair a torn ligament in his right elbow. The surgery, first reported by NFL Network, will be performed by Texas Rangers team physician Dr. Keith Meister and is expected to sideline Purdy until training camp. He tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow on the first drive of San Francisco’s 31-7 loss to Philadelphia in the NFC title game on Jan. 29. He got several opinions from doctors on whether to avoid surgery and try to rehabilitate the elbow, have an “internal brace” procedure to repair the elbow or undergo reconstructive Tommy John surgery.

The 23-year-old Purdy opted for the internal brace, which should allow him to begin a throwing program in three months and be fully cleared to practice sometime in August if everything goes as planned.

Purdy went from the last pick of the draft to the starter in the conference title game in an impressive rookie season for the 49ers. He won his first seven starts after stepping in for an injured Jimmy Garoppolo in Week 13 before the loss to the Eagles. He threw for 1,374 yards with 13 touchdowns and only four interceptions in the regular season and his 108 passer rating in the regular season and playoffs was the highest ever for a rookie with at least 200 passes.

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“Everyone saw what Brock did,” Lance said. “Brock doesn’t just come in and play that well and I just get handed something out of the blue, and I don’t expect that or want that, but I truly believe — I just want an opportunity to compete. That’s all I wanted going into this offseason. … All I can say to people at the end of the day is I’m going to do all I possibly can to be as prepared as I possibly can to be ready to go every week.”

Purdy’s absence will give Lance much-needed time to work with the first-team offense in the coming months. Lance is expected to be cleared to practice before the start of the offseason program. Garoppolo is set to be a free agent and head coach Kyle Shanahan has said he does not expect the veteran to return to the 49ers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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