Brock Purdy’s emergence last season made things very murky for Trey Lance. Even with Purdy’s torn UCL, it’s been clear from statements made by Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch that Purdy has earned the starting role when he gets healthy.
The tricky part is when, exactly, Purdy gets healthy. Shanahan gave a range of him being available for Week 1 through Week 4, but none of that is concrete — another update will likely be available 12 weeks after Purdy’s surgery.
As it stands, the 49ers’ quarterback room is Lance and Sam Darnold. Earlier this summer, Ian Rapoport reported that Darnold is likely to be the starter between the two, and on Wednesday, reported that San Francisco has “received inquiries from several teams” about trading for Lance.
The 49ers traded their 2021, 2022 and 2023 first-round picks, plus a 2022 third-round pick for Lance to the Miami Dolphins.
As it stands, it’s one of the greater misses in recent draft history, with Lance’s injuries not exactly giving him a chance to compete in either season. Things could of course change if Purdy takes longer than expected and Lance performs well, but a complete roster with a perfectionist coach drafting a project quarterback is a bit confounding in hindsight.