Which quarterback will be under center for the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1 this coming season?
It’s a loaded question, as Brock Purdy is recovering from an elbow injury suffered in last season’s NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles — who host the 49ers in Week 13 of next season on FOX — and Trey Lance is also on the mend after suffering a season-ending ankle injury in September. Meanwhile, free-agent signee Sam Darnold hasn’t made more than 13 starts in an NFL season.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan provided more clarity on Purdy — who was selected with the last pick of the 2022 NFL Draft and started the franchise’s last eight games (regular season and playoffs) — at Wednesday’s Dwight Clark Legacy Series event, saying that he should be healthy by training camp, while boasting about the soon-to-be second-year signal-caller.
“When Brock comes back and is healthy, we’ll see where we’re at,” Shanahan said. “We know we have a quarterback out there who’s won at a high level.”
Across the nine regular-season games that Purdy appeared in (five starts), he totaled 1,374 passing yards, 13 touchdowns, four interceptions and a 107.3 passer rating, completing 67.1% of his passes. Prior to getting hurt in the NFC Championship Game, Purdy had a combined 109.8 passer rating, while completing 65.1% of his passes in the playoffs. The 49ers won every game that Purdy started and finished healthy.
In the scenario in which both Purdy and Lance aren’t ready for Week 1, though, Shanahan has faith in Darnold, who San Francisco signed to a one-year deal in March.
“I truly see Sam talent-wise as a top pick in the draft, just like he was,” Shanahan said. “You watch his whole career and there’s no reason to think differently. He hasn’t been in the best situations, so we’re glad to have him here. And I’m so glad he wanted to come here. He could’ve gone to a lot of different situations and probably made a lot more money.”
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Darnold was selected by the New York Jets with the No. 3 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft out of USC. He was traded to the Carolina Panthers after three seasons, starting 17 games for them from 2021-22.
The 49ers went 13-4 last season, good for the No. 2 seed in the NFC. Prior to losing to Philadelphia, the 49ers defeated the Seattle Seahawks and Dallas Cowboys in Rounds 1 and 2.
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