49ers roster: 5 unresolved position battles left after minicamp
By Peter Panacy
49ers position battle No. 3: Backup quarterback
Trey Lance has been getting all the first-team reps at quarterback this offseason in the wake of veteran Jimmy Garoppolo being away while he rehabilitates from shoulder surgery. And considering the likelihood of San Francisco trading or releasing Jimmy G between now and Week 1, Lance is going to stay the guy for the foreseeable future.
The 49ers have two other options on the offseason roster, of course, in veteran Nate Sudfeld and the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, Brock Purdy.
To date, neither backup option has exactly taken steps to separate from the other.
Read More: Jimmy Garoppolo and his uncertain future entering 2022
Purdy struggled during rookie minicamp, while Sudfeld hasn’t exactly wowed with the second-string unit during offseason practices. And while the Niners committed a good deal of guaranteed money to Sudfeld, at least for a backup quarterback, massive struggles on his part could open up the door for Purdy to potentially contend for a QB2 role this season.
None of this is ideal, though. And it’ll certainly fuel the ideal of San Francisco retaining Garoppolo in some form, perhaps on a drastically reduced contract for a backup.
That’s not exactly ideal either, however, as it won’t remove the controversy under center that existed for almost all of 2021.
Ideally, either Sudfeld or Purdy winds up looking effective enough to support Lance in a pinch.