49ers now one snap away from having to start Brock Purdy

The 49ers losing Trey Lance to a season-ending injury means Jimmy Garoppolo resumes his role as a starter, but Brock Purdy is now the primary fallback option.

Life comes at you fast, and San Francisco 49ers rookie quarterback Brock Purdy now suddenly finds himself a much more high-profile figure within head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense than a week ago at this time.

All of this, of course, is in the wake of second-year quarterback Trey Lance suffering a devastating season-ending ankle injury during the Niners’ 27-7 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2.

With Lance done for the year, San Francisco’s decision to ultimately retain veteran signal-caller Jimmy Garoppolo instead of trading him sure looks to be the smart move. Some would argue the 49ers are in an even better position to reach deep into the playoffs with Jimmy G under center than Lance.

Yet that doesn’t change the fact Purdy is a mere single snap away from suddenly being thrust into a starter’s role himself.

Jimmy Garoppolo injury history means 49ers may need Brock Purdy

Lance’s recent injury is headline news, and it parallels what happened with Garoppolo way back in 2018 when he suffered a torn ACL in Week 3, ending his own season and forcing Shanahan to go with two relatively ineffective backups for the rest of the year, C.J. Beathard and Nick Mullens.

Unfortunately, Garoppolo also carries with him a significant injury history, too.

In addition to missing the bulk of 2018, Garoppolo also missed all but six games in 2020 with ankle injuries and then was absent for two games in 2021 because of more injury setbacks, forcing Lance to get his first two starts at the NFL level.

With Garoppolo reverting back to the starting role he enjoyed since the latter half of 2017, the Niners hope they won’t have to turn to Purdy, the final pick of this year’s NFL Draft, whatsoever in the wake of him pushing now-Detroit Lions backup Nate Sudfeld off the roster once the preseason concluded.

Yet Garoppolo’s own injury reputation potentially signals problems.

Will 49ers season be awash if Brock Purdy has to start?

Few teams can absorb losing their starting quarterback for a lengthy period of time. But, in this regard, San Francisco is fortunate to have two starters on its roster: Lance and Garoppolo.

Purdy, whose collegiate performances at Iowa State declined during his final two years there, managed some impressive preseason moments, ultimately finishing with a 61.2 completion percentage with one passing touchdown against an interception, a successful two-point conversion and an 80.8 passer rating during the exhibition phase.

Don’t assume any of that translates over to the regular season, though.

Read More: Niner Noise’s deep analytical dive into ‘Mr. Irrelevant,’ Brock Purdy

The 49ers do have a stacked playoff-capable roster, sparked by a strong rushing attack and what figures to be a top-five defense. So, should Garoppolo suffer an elongated injury, turning to Purdy wouldn’t be a complete disaster, per se.

But it probably wouldn’t be a massive upgrade over what Shanahan and the Niners experienced from Mullens back in 2018 either.