Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images
Brock Purdy has maintained the inside track for the San Francisco 49ers’ starting quarterback job despite missing offseason workouts while recovering from elbow surgery, according to ESPN’s Jeff Darlington.
“So, we have a situation where Trey Lance has gotten a lot of first-team reps but so too has Sam Darnold at times,” Darlington reported Sunday on SportsCenter. “I haven’t gotten the sense talking to anybody in San Francisco that either Darnold or Lance has done enough necessarily to hold off Purdy when he does come back.”
With Purdy temporarily out of the picture, the opportunity is obviously there for Lance or Darnold to thoroughly impress the coaching staff.
49ers passing game specialist Klint Kubiak said Lance’s mechanics have looked much better this summer.
“What stands out is his footwork,” Kubiak said, per The Athletic’s David Lombardi and Matt Barrows. “And I think that’s stuff that (quarterbacks coach) Brian (Griese) and (assistant quarterbacks coach) Klay (Kubiak) definitely have worked on. He just seems really comfortable with what you’re asking him to do. I love how his feet have progressed at this point of his career.”
49ers tight end George Kittle also told reporters the 2021 first-round pick “looks significantly better than he did last year.”
Meanwhile, as early as April, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported people outside San Francisco thought Darnold could “play meaningful snaps” in Week 1. Head coach Kyle Shanahan has certainly done more with less in terms of the quarterbacks he has elevated over the years.
Based on Darlington’s report, however, there may not be any big surprises when it comes to the Niners’ quarterback room.
