The San Francisco 49ers’ starting quarterback job for 2023 is down to two candidates: 2022 breakout candidate Brock Purdy and 2021 first-round pick Trey Lance.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan essentially confirmed to reporters on Wednesday that the team will not bring back Jimmy Garoppolo, who’s eligible to enter free agency. The Tom Brady-to-San-Fran rumors were put to a permanent halt when the seven-time Super Bowl champion announced his retirement on Wednesday.
That leaves Lance and Purdy to compete for the starting job in 2023. And according to a new report, 49ers players know which quarterback they want to lead the way.
On the latest edition of the “49ers Talk” podcast co-hosted by Matt Maiocco and Jennifer Lee Chan (h/t Andrew Gould of The Spun), Maiocco strongly indicated that the 49ers locker room prefers Purdy to be their starting QB in 2023.
“I think there will be a lot of p**sed-off people in this locker room if Brock Purdy is not the starter next season,” Maiocco said.
The 49ers gave up a king’s ransom so they could move up to No. 3 and draft Lance third overall in 2021. Garoppolo remained their primary starter for the 2021 season and helped San Fran to the NFC Championship Game, where they fell to the Los Angeles Rams.
Lance opened 2022 as the 49ers’ main starting quarterback, but he unfortunately suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Week 2. The 49ers then went back to Garoppolo, but he suffered a foot injury in Week 13 against the Miami Dolphins.
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That forced Shanahan to go with Purdy, the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft (hence the “Mr. Irrelevant” nickname). Purdy won all five of his regular season starts and led San Fran to playoff wins over the Seattle Seahawks and Dallas Cowboys.
Purdy suffered a UCL injury against the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game and was extremely limited in the second half. The Eagles went on to win 31-7, and they’ll meet the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 57.
