The ever-changing 49ers quarterback situation took another turn when Jimmy Garoppolo broke his foot in Week 13 and opened the door for rookie seventh-round pick Brock Purdy to take over the starting job.
Purdy’s success through his three games not only changed the 49ers’ fortunes in 2022, it could ultimately shift the way the club operates in the quarterback market this offseason.
Trey Lance was supposed to be the team’s long-term starter beginning this season. The plan was for the young, inexperienced QB to improve while getting a full slate of starts under his belt while the 49ers tried to thread the needle between developing a raw franchise signal caller and competing for a Super Bowl.
Whether that plan would’ve worked is up for debate, but Lance’s injury in Week 2 derailed it entirely. It looked like this offseason the 49ers would add another capable veteran to either compete for the job or hold a backup spot in case Lance went down again. They’d give themselves the opportunity to effectively do what they did with Garoppolo this year. That QB could even be Garoppolo depending on what his market looks like as an unrestricted free agent. But this is where Purdy comes in.
The discourse around Purdy’s future has leaned heavily toward whether he’s the new QB1 moving into 2023 and beyond. There’s certainly a chance for that. However, the more likely outcome is that Purdy has played well enough to eliminate the need to add a capable veteran to either compete with or backup Lance.
It’s unlikely to be decided over the next few weeks whether Purdy is the surefire starting QB next year. Too many things can change too quickly in the NFL for major roster decisions like that to be made six months before training camp. The 49ers also have a sizable investment in Lance that they made because they believe he can elevate the club to new heights because of his physical tools. Just pushing him to a backup job as he enters his third season after playing in just three full games his first two years doesn’t seem like a move they’d be itching to make.
Instead of upending the starting QB conversation, it looks like Purdy will instead give the 49ers some reassurances about what they have in-house. If he keeps playing well, San Francisco could comfortably go into next year with Lance and Purdy (in some order) as their top two QBs. They’d add a third player to the QB room, but that might be someone like Nate Sudfeld, Josh Johnson (who’s on the roster) or Jacob Eason (who’s on the practice squad). Those types of players fit the 49ers’ typical QB3 mold where they hold a practice squad spot and fill in as the QB2 in a pinch.
Purdy could, of course, improve over his final few weeks, lead the 49ers to the Super Bowl and upend the conversation again. It’s not out of the realm of possibilities in a 49ers QB saga that’s taken countless twists and turns over the last three years. For now though his play will more than likely provide some in-house stability that allows the 49ers to continue their path forward without shelling out big money for a veteran QB they can win with. Then the real decisions can come next year in training camp.
