The 49ers on Thursday wrapped up their final practice before they host the Broncos on Saturday for their second preseason bout.
While head coach Kyle Shanahan hasn’t officially laid out the plan for playing time from his quarterbacks, Thursday’s practice reps might tell the story.
Shanahan on Wednesday said he didn’t know whether his starters would suit up for the second preseason game. They all sat out the opener against the Raiders.
Here’s what we think each QB will do Saturday based on the reps from Thursday’s practice as recorded by Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle:
Brock Purdy
Thursday reps: 26
Purdy outpaced Trey Lance and Sam Darnold on Thursday in a big way. His 26 snaps were more than double the amount Darnold got. The last time this happened in a practice was the Friday before the team’s Sunday preseason game vs. the Raiders. Purdy wound up sitting out the game after a sizable practice workload.
Our guess
Purdy will sit out Saturday’s game before getting a couple series in the preseason finale. If he does suit up, it might be for one series. However, putting him under center means also lining up the entire starting offensive line to ensure Purdy is well-protected. Chances are the team leaves that to the final preseason game.
Sam Darnold
Thursday reps: 11
Darnold got more than double the amount of reps Lance did Thursday. This also follows the pattern from the first week of the preseason where Lance outpaced Darnold in practice reps before getting the start in the preseason game. Shanahan has said he’ll likely flip the script with Darnold and Lance from the opener, and the practice snaps are in line with that.
Our guess
Darnold starts and plays most of the first half. He may come out after a few series if he leads a couple of TD drives though.
Trey Lance
Thursday reps: 5
Lance is in the back seat for Week 2 of the preseason after leading the way in the exhibition opener. His low rep count is in line with him relieving Darnold vs. the Broncos the way Darnold did for him in Las Vegas.
Our guess
Lance needs more reps than Darnold which may be why he gets in a little earlier than the third quarter, which is when Darnold took over against the Raiders. Even if he comes in for part of the first half though, Lance will likely get all of third and maybe a series in the fourth quarter.
Brandon Allen
Thursday reps: 0
Allen was not in practice most of the week due to the birth of his child. Congratulations to the Allens! His lack of practice snaps goes along with what we saw in joint practices with the Raiders where he got no 11-on-11 work before taking on mop up duty in the game.
Our guess
He’ll get whatever bits of the fourth quarter Lance doesn’t play. Given his lack of practice time during the week the team may opt to sit him out entirely though.
