SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Sam Darnold is the 49ers’ choice to fulfill their quarterback contingency plan while Brock Purdy recovers from elbow surgery and Trey Lance comes back from a fractured ankle.
This won’t be like Darnold’s entry to the NFL, when the New York Jets drafted him No. 3 overall out of USC to try resurrecting their franchise.
This won’t be like Darnold’s last stop, when he got traded to the Carolina Panthers in 2021, got benched for Baker Mayfield before last season, and couldn’t reverse that team’s downward trend.