As he does every summer, tight end George Kittle has talked up every quarterback on the 49ers' roster in training camp.
He'll roll with any of them under center -- but does have one hope for this upcoming season.
"My preference is as long as there is one guy that’s back there who is healthy," Kittle said with a smile Monday to NFL Network's Steve Mariucci and Colleen Wolfe. "That’d be awesome just to get on the same page."
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Brock Purdy is set to start at quarterback, but there's a battle for the backup spot behind him between Sam Darnold and Trey Lance -- a pair of former No. 3 overall picks. Darnold and Lance will duke it out during joint practices and three preseason games to see who will hold the first clipboard behind Purdy. Brandon Allen, who was Joe Burrow's backup quarterback the past three years in Cincinnati, also lingers in the building.
If Purdy starts and finishes the season as the 49ers' starting quarterback, it'd be a significant contrast to what Kittle has dealt with over his NFL career.
"It’s crazy. I’m going into Year 7," Kittle said. "My first year I had three quarterbacks. My second year I had three quarterbacks. My third year I had one quarterback – 2019 we went to the Super Bowl. In 2020, I think I had 17 quarterbacks. In 2021, we had three quarterbacks. Last year we had four quarterbacks."
Just for fun, here's a list of the quarterbacks to play at least one offensive snap during Kittle's tenure in San Francisco: C.J. Beathard, Jimmy Garoppolo, Brian Hoyer, Josh Johnson, Lance, Nick Mullens and Purdy. And many of those names moved up and down the depth chart throughout the years.
San Francisco 49ers
"Let’s just get to one, guys," Kittle said. "I think it’d be fun, right? Just some consistency would be really fun."