49ers roster: Kyle Shanahan has tough decision between Nate Sudfeld, Brock Purdy

SF 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan now has to choose who the best option is for the backup QB role

The San Francisco 49ers finished their preseason games with a disappointing 17-0 loss to the Houston Texans on Thursday, in a game probably best left forgotten.

But hey it’s only preseason and the 49ers had a wide array of starters not playing at all during the game, so there’s no need to panic. San Francisco should still be a very strong team this season, despite starting an inexperienced quarterback in Trey Lance.

Lance is entrenched as the starter as the new era begins, but it’s a valid question as to who will be his backup in 2022. Clearly the team initially had Nate Sudfeld in mind as the backup with $2 million guaranteed as part of his contract, but Mr. Irrelevant himself Brock Purdy has made a good case to be the one considered.

In the final preseason game neither quarterback particularly stood out, but Purdy was absolute to complete some nice throws down the field (despite not having the best arm strength) and lead the team down the field more efficiently.

Purdy finished the game with 13-for-20 passing for 182 yards and an interception, while Sudfeld was less impressive with 5-for-10 passing for 49 yards and an interception of his own. Sudfeld mostly just dinked and dunked when on the field (in fairness, so did Lance) and didn’t really show the upside that Purdy did.

Purdy is intriguing despite being only a rookie. He doesn’t have the arm strength to be a starter, but he has good instinct with the ball and can run with the ball. He shows a willingness to throw the ball down the field and even though the passes tend to float a bit due to the lack of velocity, his accuracy puts the ball in a spot where only the receiver can catch it.

Purdy has caught the eye in the preseason and while it’s unlikely a team would claim him on waivers, the possibility can’t be ruled out either. If the 49ers feel like they can’t afford to risk it, they’d have to make Purdy the backup or at least make the unusual decision to keep three quarterbacks on the roster.

Whether it be the money invested in the relative experience of Sudfeld or the impressive debut of Purdy, head coach Kyle Shanahan has a decision to make on who will backup Lance for 2022.