Kyle Shanahan: 49ers QB situation “not set in stone”

Posted By on July 21, 2023

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) warms up next to head coach Kyle Shanahan before an NFL divisional round playoff football game against the Dallas Cowboys in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

Brock Purdy. Trey Lance. Sam Darnold.

Each of the three prime candidates to be the starting quarterback for the 49ers in 2023 have been the focus of rumors this offseason. It just depended on the day and which NFL “insider” was talking.

Kyle Shanahan sat down with Steve Wyche of NFL Network at the NFL Owners Meetings in late March and laid out his teams’ quarterback situation.

“We have three guys who can play, there’s only one spot, and we have a good team,” said Shanahan. “I see it as a cool situation.”

“Last year we had some unknown. We believed in Trey (Lance), but he hadn’t gone out and done it yet. But we believed in him. We got to see him for a year and a half, what he could do. And he lost an opportunity, which happens in football. And we had another guy come in, very similar to Trey but less reps and stuff. Brock (Purdy) got that opportunity. Now we are in this situation.”

“I get how everyone wants something set in stone, but it’s not set in stone. I love the options. I love the experience that Brock got. I love that Trey got some too. I love the ability we have in the room. Besides those three, I love our team around them. Let’s let it play out, and all I have to do is survive the press conferences.”

It’s important to note these comments came after Shanahan told the 49ers local media that Brock Purdy was the “leader in the clubhouse” to be the starter. They paint a more open lane for Trey Lance to wrest the starting job from Purdy.

Based on his performance last season, Brock Purdy is a known entity. The rookie quarterback went out and executed Shanahan’s offense to near perfection helping the team win eight games in a row. However, a torn UCL injury in Purdy’s throwing elbow has sidelined him for the offseason, and his availability for training camp is up in the air.

Meanwhile, Trey Lance has spent the offseason working with private quarterback coach Jeff Christensen. Among Christensen’s clients is none other than Patrick Mahomes. Lance had the opportunity to work with the two-time Super Bowl winner prior to the start of the 49ers offseason program.

Lance has the elite traits teams look for in a quarterback. His size, arm, ability to move and brain led to him being taken third overall in the 2021 draft. During his first two seasons, both slowed by injuries, Lance has shown flashes of his immense potential.

Regardless of which side of the debate you fall on, if you are a 49ers fan having Trey Lance finally put it all together and Brock Purdy return healthy is good news.

The 49ers have one of, if not the best rosters in all professional football. A competition between Lance and Purdy will bring out the best in both and could help the team finally bring home that elusive sixth Lombardi Trophy.

This article has 33 Comments

  1. “We believed in Trey (Lance), but he hadn’t gone out and done it yet. But we believed in him. We got to see him for a year and a half, what he could do” Kyle Shanahan

    I’ve been saying that for a while. We can’t judge Lance based on such a small sample size. Two of his starts were (home games) in games Arizona due to covid. Then another start in Chicago that was hit with a storm around the 4th QTR. Which resulted in loss because our CB/SFTY blew coverage.

    Well, at least the head coach views Lance with a much better lens than other do.
    If I come over as a little edgy today, maybe it’s because I’m in the Central Valley where it’s 106, lol.

    2. Trey is a terrific person and I hope he shines. Purdy will not appear much in camp. Look for Trey to start the year and have the opportunity he has long wanted.

  2. AES,
    Its only been in the mid 90’s in the North Bay so I guess I will be a little less edgy. If BP is able to take part at 100% from the first day I think the job is his to lose. If he can’t go 100% at the beginning maybe he even starts on the PUP that will be Lance’s best chance. I just don’t see anyone overtaking BP while splitting reps 4 ways. If BP starts the season as #1 and Lance beats Darnold for #2 then Lance will have to wait for Purdy to lose a couple games or get hurt for Lance to have a chance. How long a leash do you see KS giving BP in the regular season? How many games lost do you see KS giving BP before he pulls him for the #2?

    1. Coach,
      Based on Purdy’s great effort last season, I believe that Shanahan will be very patient. Purdy has to lose while looking bad in doing so, imo. I won’t pin a loss on him if the defense makes a blunder like they did in Chicago last year. That would be unfair.

      I believe that Lance is going to take a major step forward this year, whether it’s with the 49ers or another team. We forget that he was basically a kid when he was drafted.

      QB guru Jeff Christensen (during Spring workouts) said that Lance corrected some areas in his throwing motion that will help him going forward.
      And, while we haven’t seen much of Lance, he has shown the ability to take care of the football and not serve up turn-overs.
      TBD – with Lance and Darnold.

    2. If BP stays healthy and the niners win games TL may not get much of a chance. TL has to stay healthy too.

  3. You can’t call that O-line one of the best in football so you can’t call the 49ers roster one of the best rosters in football. Major weak link.

    1. Pat,
      I think this years O line will be better than last year but that is just 1 mans opinion. Even if the O line is only equal to last years I think they have one of the best rosters in the NFL. I define “one of the best” as top 5. lets look at their roster by position groups.
      QBs are a question mark, if Purdy plays as well as he did last year I would say he is top 8.
      RBs best in football when healthy
      WRs as far as yards gained in the air and on the ground top 5
      TEs I will take Kittle over any other TE in football. Depth is questionable hopefully one of the rookies will step up. As long as Kittle is healthy they are #1.
      Oline top 15
      D line top 3
      LBs #1
      DBs top 10
      P I think Wishnowski was #1 last year
      K If Moody plays to his potential he could be top 5
      When you look at their position groups individually I believe they are top 5.
      If Banks Brendel and Burford take 2nd year jumps and McKivitz is in the top 35 this roster could be #1
      IMHO

  4. Coach,
    I, absolutely agree. The QB1 is Purdy, period. But, he’s coming back from a major injury on of all places, his throwing arm. At this point, even he may not know what to expect until he’s on the field.

    And even, if Purdy shows no signs of an injury in 2023 the 49ers will still need two backup QBs based on the injury bug that ravaged our QB corps last season.

    When all is said and done, we might not know the full measure of Purdy’s post surgery play until game 4-5, imho.

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  6. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. At the end of the day, all the measurables aside, the most important one is the intangible one, of what is in between the ears going on when the QB is in the pocket. Purdy has shown more of that than the other two in their comparative sample set. And as much as I want for the drafting of Lance not to be a waste of draft resources, I don’t care at the end of the day. I just want the QB to be a winner.

    1. Barleyfreak, I agree. People always look at the physical side, when it’s the mental side that most determines success for quarterbacks.

  7. Barleyfreak,
    I’m not throwing (no pun intended) shade on Purdy. But even if Brock is the most intelligent QB among all QBs, if his arm has any negative effects going forward, intelligence will only take him so far.

    Luckily for Purdy, he has youth on his side which can speed up the entire healing process and allow him to continue to play at a high level.

  9. Why did the 49ers abandon Rocklin as their training camp? Such
    an easy place to get to from the North Bay and spend a nice
    morning, afternoon watching practice. Players seemed more
    accessible too.

    1. Rob,
      I believe that it came down to cost factors.
      Me and my young son drove up to Rocklin to watch a practice. The memory that sticks to my mind is Jerry Rice receiving a 12-15 yrd pass at about the 35, then running full blast with no one around him to the end zone. I remember saying to my son, that’s why he’s great, he does the extra things.

      Flash forward a couple of years, and it was a joy to drive just a little over 35 min to watch them practice in Stockton.
      The rookie that stood out for me was a guy named Terrell Owens.
      Got to meet Bryant Young at an Applebee’s restaurant on March Ln. not long after that.
      Fun times, and hot Summers.

  10. I read an article recently that said the 49ers left Rocklin for three reasons. #1 the heat, one of the reasons Walsh originally moved them to Rocklin was he felt that training in much cooler San Jose/Santa Clara was making them soft. 17 years later listening to training and medical professionals they decided that training in heat was not healthy for the players. #2 Sierra College had made no up grades to the facility in 17 years and the 9ers were training in far inferior facilities than other NFL teams. #3 Sierra College had started running summer sessions and it affected the 9ers privacy.

    1. That makes sense, Coach.
      But here is an interesting piece that I found…

      “From 1981 to 1997, the 49ers trained in Rocklin. Arguably, their best years were a result of their Sierra College experience. The 49ers won five Super Bowls during their stay at the college, and have not won another one since leaving the friendly confines of Sierra College.”

      Being at one of their practices, I can attest to the heat factor in Rocklin, but it didn’t affect their ability to win. Interesting tidbit.

      1. AES,
        I think their time in Rocklin also built a level of team chemistry that you just don’t see anymore. Most teams have gone away from isolated camps. If you have ever read any of the books written about the NFL in the 60’s and 70’s there are always great camp stories. Paper Lion by George Plimpton may be the best.

        1. The only thing from Plimpton that I remember is him in a movie (Paper Lion?) or documentary playing QB for the Lions in which he was beat up by the defense.

          1. He was with the Lions for their whole camp back when camp was almost 2 months long. The movie was taken from the book. If you have time you should give it a read. Trivia question, who played Plimpton in the movie? ,,,,,,,,,Alan Alda

  11. Kyle has never said anything was set in stone. Only that Brock has earned pole position… And that it would be hard to usurp Brock given his in game performance.
    Only content creators have claimed he has confused everyone. Kyle has been pretty honest on this but so many act like he’s only lied.smh

    1. I agree Shoup, but many content creators have to use click bait to attract viewers and readers. Kyles position on this has been clear. On the one hand, Purdy has demonstrated exceptional QB skills so he is undoubtedly the favorite to start. On the the other hand when you have 2 talented back ups, you don’t want to close the door prematurely.

    2. Shoup,
      Purdy is the QB1.
      Lance will probably need to complete every pass in TC, with many of those passes going for TDs. And this, may only give him a modicum of Starter consideration.
      I don’t see this happening.

      But, what Lance does have to do is beat out Darnold for QB2. And be ready to keep the offense rolling if Purdy misses any games.

    1. Tuesday we will hear from Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch.
      Wednesday is the first practice.

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