On Tuesday, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said he’d wait until before the regular season opener to name his QB2.
On Wednesday, NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero reported that the Niners have penciled in Sam Darnold to be Brock Purdy’s backup this season, leaving the future unclear for QB3 and former No. 3 overall pick Trey Lance.
The 49ers signed the 26-year-old Darnold to a one-year contract this season after he had five subpar seasons with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers to begin his career. Lance, meanwhile, has been beset by injuries since the Niners used three first-rounders and a third-rounder to trade up from the No. 12 pick in 2021.
We’ll have to see if Lance gets traded before the Sept. 11 opener against the Steelers, but if he’s QB3 to begin the year, it doesn’t mean he’ll be that way the whole season.
Shanahan told reporters that the QB2 role could fluctuate from week-to-week, as the coaching staff will also take the QB3’s responsibilities as a scout team quarterback – which mimics the opposing team – into consideration.
In two preseason games so far, Darnold has completed 16-of-22 passes (72.7 percent) for 193 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Lance has gone 22-of-33 (66.7 percent) for 285 yards with two touchdowns and a pick, leading a game-winning drive in Saturday’s matchup against the Denver Broncos.
Shanahan explained how Darnold has improved since joining the 49ers earlier this year.
“Just each day,” Shanahan said. “Coming in here, not knowing the offense and not playing in an offense similar to it. Just his command, getting in and out of the huddle, and knowing where he is now compared to Day 1. He’s been real consistent in everything. He didn’t come in that first day just owning it all, because you can’t if you don’t have the experience. But each day that he’s done it, he’s gotten better and better and he just looks more comfortable in everything that he’s doing.”
Lance’s rookie season was affected by a broken finger he suffered in a preseason game, which altered his throwing mechanics. After getting over that, Lance suffered a season-ending ankle injury just five quarters into his audition for being 49ers franchise quarterback in 2022. Once Purdy led the Niners to eight straight wins and the NFC Championship game last year, Lance’s opportunity suddenly dried up.
Shanahan tried to spin Lance’s lost season into a positive on Tuesday, though.
“I think it helped him,” Shanahan said. “It always helps to play through things and go through that stuff. But for him to sit back last year and really get to watch some stuff and know what he wanted to focus on – because he did get that week-and-a-half of playing, he did get the whole training camp, the whole preseason – he knew exactly what he was in for. Unfortunately, he got hurt and didn’t get to go through it, but I think he made a positive out of it.”
Given Pelissero’s report, it seems like Shanahan might have been trying to chum the waters with Lance as trade bait.
Despite all the draft capital the 49ers have used on Lance, they haven’t treated him like a special case. At this point, he’s just another name on the depth chart, as former Mr. Irrelevant Purdy has assumed the role as franchise quarterback.
The ceiling might be higher for Lance with his athleticism, but Darnold seems to fit in Shanahan’s game manager mold that was carried out by Jimmy Garoppolo the past few seasons. The biggest bugaboo facing Darnold is his propensity for turnovers, as he has thrown 55 interceptions and lost 13 fumbles (68 total turnovers) in 56 career games.
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