49ERS’ SAM DARNOLD BEATS OUT FORMER THIRD OVERALL PICK TREY LANCE FOR BACKUP QUARTERBACK ROLE
After months of speculation about the state of the San Francisco 49ers quarterback room and the health of their players at the position, the team finally confirmed their starter and backups going into the 2023 season.
The 49ers named Sam Darnold their backup quarterback behind last season’s standout performer, Brock Purdy on Wednesday, as first reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. After a summer competition throughout training camp and OTAs, Darnold finally beat out 2021 third-overall pick Trey Lance for the backup job.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan told 49ers flagship radio KNBR on Wednesday that both Lance and Darnold had been “neck and neck” in competition for the job but Darnold started separating himself in recent days.
“Starting back from OTAs all the way to now, it was a hell of a battle,” said Shanahan. “They were neck and neck for a long time but really over these last ten days, we felt Sam [Darnold] started to separate himself. We thought he did it in practice consistently and he’s been getting better each day. Trey [Lance] made it real tight. He made it tough.”
Darnold chose to move to San Francisco for a change of scenery this offseason, signing a one-year contract in March and taking a significant pay cut. The former New York Jet spent the last two seasons with the Carolina Panthers and endured a disastrous 2022 campaign that ended with head coach Matt Rhule losing his job and all three of the team’s quarterbacks moving on from the organization.
For the first time in his six-year career, Darnold will now have an opportunity to play for a stable organization and will look forward to working under one of the best coaches in the league in Kyle Shanahan.
Shanahan said on Wednesday the decision for Darnold to be the backup was made before the 21-20 win on the weekend against the Denver Broncos. A game in which Lance led the team back from a 20-12 deficit to win the game in the fourth quarter.
The former Washington offensive coordinator told Lance about the decision on Wednesday morning and chose to give him the day off in order to take in the decision and process it. San Francisco had a short, light practice on Wednesday without pads and expected to have Lance back in the building on Thursday morning.
The 49ers moved up from 12 to third overall and drafted Trey Lance during the 2021 NFL Draft with an aim for him to be the future face of the franchise. But injuries in back-to-back years have kept the 23-year-old from putting his stamp on the starting job. Lance has had a lack of experience at both the professional and collegiate levels, something that’s hindered him from developing as a proper NFL quarterback.
Shanahan told KNBR that he plans on playing Lance on Friday against the Chargers, coming in after Sam Darnold. The former North Dakota State Bison is expected to start the second half against Los Angeles.
Although the backup quarterback position was always a competition heading into training camp, head coach Kyle Shanahan revealed that the starting job was never up for grabs. “We took Brock [Purdy] in the seventh round and obviously we weren’t thinking we would be in the position,” said Shanahan. “But when Brock got that opportunity he came in and he played at a very high level. Whoever would have been here with the way Brock looked, we would have gone with Brock. That was the reality of it.”
Purdy had worked his way back from a torn ulterior cruciate ligament injury this offseason and was doubtful for week one of the regular season after having surgery in March. Usually an injury that takes six months, the former Iowa State Cyclone was back healthy before training camp and has impressed the team with his progress and availability ahead of the football season.
The 49ers believe Purdy gives them the best chance at a Super Bowl and hope the last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft can get back to his postseason form last year before he was hurt in the NFC Championship game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Despite the recent developments roster-wise at the position, head coach Kyle Shanahan reiterated that Darnold winning the backup job didn’t mean the team was giving up on Trey Lance. “This isn’t a thing that we’re giving up on Trey,” said Shanahan. “This is more of how Brock played in his 7 games and that was decided before this season started. And then how good Sam’s looked. They’ve both looked good but we do have to make a decision here and you only get so many reps at it.”
Regarding any possible trades or moves elsewhere, Shanahan said: “I feel really fortunate that both [Lance and Darnold] are here. I really hope when it’s said and done that all three of these guys are here and you never know when that’s going to come up. We needed four guys last year. Doesn’t happen much but if we can have Trey as an option here I would feel extremely happy about that…”
“We would always try to do right for Trey. If there’s a better situation that his heart’s in and something like that, we’re going to make sure not to do something that hurts him in that way… Trey knows how I feel about him and I hope he ends up being able to be here and that’s the best thing for him.”
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
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