Once again in 2023, the 49ers will face a host of questions about their quarterback position.
After going through the whole Jimmy Garoppolo/Trey Lance situation the past couple years, Brock Purdy was thrown into the mix in Week 13 last year and rattled off nine straight wins before eventually injuring the UCL in his right throwing elbow in the NFC Championship.
Purdy underwent surgery a couple weeks ago and is currently rehabbing in Arizona. ESPN’s Nick Wagoner shared updates from 49ers general manager John Lynch at Monday’s NFL owners’ meetings in Arizona.
Lynch made a solid endorsement for Purdy, saying he has probably earned the right to be QB1 once he gets healthy.
"I think Brock has earned the right with the way he played that he's probably the leader in the clubhouse at that," Lynch said, via Wagoner. "I'll let Kyle make those kinds of decisions but I know when we talk, Brock has probably earned that right to be the guy. If we were to line up, he'd probably take that first snap."
According to Lynch, Purdy is rehabbing in his home state of Arizona. The 49ers should have a better idea of how he’s recovering when he’s three months out from his March 10 surgery.
"That was really good news," Lynch said. "We'll see at 12 weeks; we should be able to give you a little more direction on how he's tracking. … I think like a lot of those things, timelines are just guidelines. Every person is different. There probably is some amount of time in talking to the docs that you want to make sure you get to that point before he's out there but our hope is he's ready to go in training camp."
Lynch also told Wagoner that the 49ers aren’t likely to trade Lance, but they’ll never shut the door on any potential conversations. Lance is also rehabbing a foot/ankle injury that wiped out his 2022 season in Week 2.
"We like Trey on our team right now," Lynch said. "Kyle and I always joke we'd trade each other if someone would give us a good enough deal. So we listen to anything but we like Trey on our team. We're very excited about the way he's progressing, about his opportunity. I think he's chomping at the bit to get back out there, get back under center and be healthy again."
