Brock Purdy is expected to be the 49ers' starting quarterback for the 2023 NFL season if the 23-year-old is cleared from his UCL recovery.
If Purdy indeed is given the OK to start under center come Week 1, the question then becomes who will be the second option behind him? Is it Trey Lance, who the 49ers traded up to select No. 3 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, or could newly-acquired 49er Sam Darnold take over? ESPN's NFL insider Jeremy Fowler weighed in.
"I will say this, and this has persisted for a while, when the 49ers signed Sam Darnold early in free agency and gave him decent money, considering people have always sort of been enamored with him around the league for better or worse despite his struggles, there are a lot of people around the league that think he'll play meaningful snaps for San Francisco this year based on why they signed him, when they signed him," Fowler said on "The Rich Eisen Show." "Just some of the ability, he's the perfect fit for [49ers coach] Kyle Shanahan's offense that might actually bring out the best of him for once.
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"So I'm curious to see how that plays out. It's like a choose-your-own-adventure with them, too, because Trey Lance, the issues really seemed to be accuracy in the limited time that he played, but they really still do not know what they have. Even when you talk to people over there, he just has not played enough football to evaluate him. And he is a hard worker and he does a lot of things that [the 49ers] like when [the 49ers] drafted him two years ago, they're just in a tough spot with it."
Darnold signed a one-year, $5.7 million contract with the 49ers as a free agent in March. He joins an already-competitive QB room but is excited for the battle.
“I think competition is great for everyone,” Darnold said last month following the second day of 49ers OTAs. “Obviously, we’ve got some competition in the quarterback room, but other places as well. It's always great to be able to go out there and compete, and we're going to do that.”
San Francisco 49ers
Purdy, who continues to make steady strides in his recovery, departed for Jacksonville, Fla. on Monday where he will "throw the next couple weeks" with QB coach Will Hewlett and orthopedic specialist Tom Gormely, per NFL Media's Tom Pelissero.
Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers remain optimistic that Purdy will be ready to go when San Francisco opens the new season against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 10.
"If any of those three guys played snaps, it wouldn't shock me," Fowler added. "But I would put Purdy as the one if he's healthy, but there's a feeling that Darnold could be out on the field at some point in meaningful snaps."
Of course, there's no way to know for certain who will be the starter under center for San Francisco in three months, but in the meantime, the NFL world will speculate.