San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was in street clothes Sunday afternoon as they opened their exhibition slate with an ugly 34-7 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.
With Purdy sitting after undergoing offseason elbow surgery, former No. 3 overall pick Trey Lance got the start under center.
To say that it didn’t go swimmingly for the embattled young quarterback would be an understatement. Playing with fellow 49ers backups, Lance led the team to just nine first downs in the first half. They had three three-and-outs as the quarterback was sacked four times.
Lance’s stat line wasn’t bad (10-of-15 passing, 112 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 111.0 QB rating). But this was certainly a case of the box score lying. The quarterback’s one touchdown was more of a mirage than anything else.
Throwing late and down the middle typically isn’t a recipe for success. If Raiders cornerback Duke Shelley could’ve come down with an interception, it would have changed the dynamics of Lance’s performance.
The youngster also threw another near interception as he closed out the first half as he struggled providing consistency through the air.
The backdrop here is Purdy’s status as San Francisco’s unquestioned starter as Lance battles it out with veteran Sam Darnold to be QB2.
Related: San Francisco 49ers standing in our NFL power rankings
Kyle Shanahan continues to prop up Brock Purdy
The final pick in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Iowa State, Purdy took over for an injured Jimmy Garoppolo in December. This came after Lance — the starter heading into last season — was lost for the campaign to injury in Week 2.
What Purdy did after that opened eyes within the 49ers’ organization. He won all five of his regular season starts and San Francisco’s first two playoff games before injuring his elbow early in the NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Early in this process, Shanahan knew that Purdy was going to be his guy no matter what transpired as Lance and Garoppolo rehabbed from injuries. “It took about three games,” Shanahan said when asked when he knew Purdy would be the starter moving forward.
“He’s been [the starter] since last year ended. He was always clearly our starter, but there were so many questions about his injury, how he’d come back from it, that we didn’t even know if he’d be ready for this year, so we had to prepare for everything else.”
Kyle Shanahan on Brock Purdy, via Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated
Purdy took over for Garoppolo early in a Week 12 outing against the Miami Dolphins. He proceeded to complete 25-of-37 passes for 210 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in a 33-17 win.
Once Purdy led San Francisco to a Week 15 road win over the Seattle Seahawks, Shanahan had found his answer. With the quarterback now clearly ready to go Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, there’s no question who QB1 is.
Related: Ranking Brock Purdy and NFL’s 32 starting QBs
Trey Lance and his future with the San Francisco 49ers
A lot was made about Lance’s future in San Francisco during the offseason. After some initial struggles during training camp, he picked it up down the stretch.
Unfortunately, this did not translate to in-game success for the former North Dakota State star. Lance, 23, is now competing with the aforementioned Darnold to be Purdy’s primary backup heading into the regular season.
The question here is whether the still-young quarterback will be given an opportunity with Lance still very much seen as a project and the 49ers’ championship window wide open.
“If Purdy remains healthy and plays near the level at which he performed as a rookie, he will remain as the starter,” 49ers insider Matt Maiocco indicated recently. “And the truth is that Lance may never get another opportunity in a meaningful game to show what he can do for the 49ers.”
With all of 102 regular season passes under his belt, Lance needs playing time. It just doesn’t seem like it’s going to come with the 49ers. Whether that leads to a trade ahead of Week 1 remains to be seen.