Free agents who’d love to play for Kyle Shanahan, 49ers in 2023
By Peter Panacy
Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold would love to resurrect career with Kyle Shanahan, 49ers
OK, before you laugh, consider the report that linked Carolina Panthers flameout quarterback Sam Darnold with Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers back in the spring of 2021.
Darnold is a bust, yes. He’ll never get around that.
However, this doesn’t mean his career is tanked. If anything, finding the right context and situation should be No. 1 on the former top-three NFL Draft pick.
Even if it means being the third option on a depth chart.
Shanahan is already looking at quarterbacks Trey Lance and Brock Purdy on the Niners’ depth chart this offseason. However, with Purdy nursing a serious elbow injury that’ll keep him out until training camp, while Lance is just close to getting back from a broken ankle, someone like Darnold can step in and have that opportunity to compete for a high-end spot.
Doing so with Shanahan, who made Purdy a household name out of the ashes of the tail end of the 2022 draft, would likely be a career-saving dream for someone like Darnold.