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Many believed the San Francisco 49ers would have a competitive camp battle for the starting quarterback role.
However, it sounds like Kyle Shanahan is picking Brock Purdy over Trey Lance.
According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, the 49ers head coach was rather blunt when asked about the quarterback situation. As it turns out, the organization views Purdy highly. Probably more than anyone realizes.
After being asked what it would take for Brock Purdy to lose the starting job, whether it was to Trey Lance or maybe Sam Darnold, the 49ers head coach didn’t hold back in his response.
“He would have to melt in practice to lose it. And Brock’s too good of a player to melt in practice—and so are the other guys.”
Considering Purdy isn’t the Wicked Witch of the West, he’s probably not going to melt.
But it is eye-opening that Kyle Shanahan views Brock Purdy this highly, as the 49ers traded a haul to acquire Trey Lance third overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.
With that said, Lance needs reps to actually make the improvements he needs to make to possibly become a starting quarterback. But the 49ers aren’t really in a position to give a project quarterback the reps he needs to improve.
San Francisco is considered a Super Bowl contender out of the NFC. Waiting for Trey Lance to figure it out could be detrimental to their championship aspirations.
His injury last season was horrible timing for the young quarterback. Last year could have been the season Trey Lance figured it out.
Instead, Brock Purdy found his way to the starting lineup after a string of injuries and is seemingly holding onto the job.
With that said, maybe a franchise with virtually no chance at winning the Super Bowl could trade for Trey Lance. But until then, it sounds like he may be stuck on the 49ers roster.