Will Brock Purdy be the starting quarterback for the 49ers in the next season?
The 49ers drafted Trey Lance third overall for a reason which might mean Brock Purdy won't be the starter for 2023.
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Brock Purdy (Image via Sactown Sports)
The San Francisco 49ers had one of the most exciting seasons in 2022. They started their first-round pick, Trey Lance, after benching him in his rookie season. He started two games before suffering a season-ending injury. The 49ers had no choice but to start veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in the last year of his contract.
Garoppolo led the team until week 13 when even he suffered an injury that kept him from continuing the remainder of the season. At this moment, the 49ers had no choice but to start the last pick of the 2022 NFL draft, Brock Purdy. Mr. Irrelevant quickly became a rookie sensation as he led the team to one victory after another without a single loss into the playoffs.
Brock Purdy’s story became an underdog masterpiece, much like Tom Brady‘s. San Francisco made their third NFC Championship in four years under Kyle Shanahan, but much like last time, they lost and remained short of reaching the Super Bowl for the third time! The 49ers started in Super Bowl LIV but couldn’t lift the Lombardi Trophy against the mighty Kansas City Chiefs.
Brock Purdy vs Trey Lance: Who will be the 49ers starter for 2023?
The 49ers are now in limbo regarding their quarterback situation. Jimmy Garoppolo will be picked up by a different team in desperate need of a veteran quarterback, Trey Lance is still in recovery from his injury last year and Brock Purdy who also suffered a UCL injury in the conference championship game delayed his surgery to commit to becoming a starter in 2023.
The 49ers traded up to draft Trey Lance in the 2021 NFL draft. The 22-year-old was the least experienced quarterback in the draft, but the franchise still picked him up given his size, athleticism, and arm strength. But given Brock Purdy’s insane run, which included just one defeat, the team will be evaluating if he will be a better fit. Kyle Shanahan’s offense looked invincible under Purdy and even players on the offense were impressed by his ability to lead the team.
Brock Purdy doesn’t have great arm strength unlike Lance but he is extremely calm under pressure and lightning-quick on his legs as well. He can break tackles and still keep the play going on. Purdy also has great accuracy and can thread the needle when needed to. The Iowa State alum performed well, but the sample size to judge him to be the starter is quite small. He ended the 2022 season with 114 completion for 1,374 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions in the five regular season games he started and won. In the postseason, he had a 2-1 record and 569 passing yards with 3 touchdowns.
GM John Lynch can still look for a veteran quarterback in free agency if they want someone who can lead this championship team all the way. But the 49ers still need to put in Trey Lance given the picks they had to exchange to draft him. Lance is a high-risk high-reward quarterback, i.e. he will either be the best quarterback or a bust.
Brock Purdy’s UCL injury might take him a lot of time to recover and it is still uncertain whether the franchise wants to start him. Mostly, Lance will be the starter for the 49ers in 2023 and if he fails to price himself as the franchise guy, the team might be motivated to put Purdy under center. Still, nothing is set in stone for Brock Purdy. It’ll be interesting to see how the situation unfolds!
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Yash Karandekar
(1023 Articles Published)