The 49ers are yet again dealing with a quarterback conundrum entering 2023, so let’s rank out what their best options should actually be this offseason.
There will be a time at some point in the future when the San Francisco 49ers are entirely settled at quarterback for the long run.
Someday. It’ll happen.
Until then, the Niners remain in a seemingly endless quarterbacking conundrum that won’t stop heading into the 2023 offseason. San Francisco has two players poised to start, Trey Lance and Brock Purdy, but both are dealing with serious injuries suffered on the extreme bookends of last season.
Lance, coming back from a broken ankle, is expected to be recovered by offseason workouts. Purdy, dealing with a UCL tear in his elbow, won’t be back until training camp at the soonest.
See how things are murky, especially considering how well Purdy played down the stretch last year?
So, who is going to be the best quarterbacking option for the 49ers to kick off the 2023 season anyway?
Let’s rank out the options, ending with the best one.
49ers quarterbacking option No. 4: Jimmy Garoppolo
On the surface, this doesn’t sound like a bad option. After all, the Niners salvaged their season last year when Lance was hurt because they ultimately retained the veteran quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, instead of trading him.
Garoppolo knows the offense, is well-respected in the locker room and isn’t a massive liability even if he is limited as a passer.
The benefits end there, though.
Unlike last offseason, Garoppolo enters 2023 as a free agent. San Francisco wouldn’t want to commit more than $20 million per year on a new contract for him, and he likely wouldn’t want to return in the wake of two years of absolute awkwardness, and it isn’t as if he’ll get away from a quarterbacking conundrum again if he stayed. Not with Purdy and Lance looking over his shoulder, at least.
Garoppolo is a feasible option, yes. But it’d be best for both he and the 49ers to finally, finally move on from each other.
49ers quarterbacking option No. 3: A veteran free agent
It’d be one thing if the Niners could somehow engineer a trade for Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
However, with Rodgers all but saying he wasn’t heading to San Francisco, let’s just cross that off the list. Besides, minus first- or second-round picks in the 2023 NFL Draft, it’s not like the 49ers can engineer a trade of that magnitude anyway.
The 2023 free-agent class of quarterbacks is provocative, yes, perhaps highlighted by former Las Vegas Raiders signal-caller Derek Carr. Yet someone like Carr and even Jimmy Garoppolo won’t want to join the Niners to merely be a bridge to either Trey Lance or Brock Purdy.
That means San Francisco would have to settle on a stopgap veteran to hold the line, potentially as short as a two- or three-game timeframe if either Lance or Purdy wasn’t completely ready and/or competent enough to play.
Would names like Andy Dalton, Sam Darnold, Teddy Bridgewater, Jacoby Brissett or even Baker Mayfield spark the conversation?
Probably not. Especially if the asking price is anything more than a low-level backup.
However, at least all of those names would bring some extensive experience to the table on a 49ers team loaded with offensive talent.
49ers quarterbacking option No. 2: Brock Purdy
Now, here’s where things begin to get interesting with this ranking.
Jimmy Garoppolo is probably gone, the Niners probably will bring in a low-caliber free-agent veteran this offseason, and the major question still resides nevertheless.
Brock Purdy or Trey Lance as the 2023 starter?
Based on experience and recent performances, Purdy is the clear-cut answer. Lance has four NFL starts under his belt, and that’s it. Despite San Francisco’s aggressive trade-up for him back in 2021, the No. 3 overall pick from the NFL Draft is still wholly inexperienced and unproven, and the fact he hasn’t played a full season at any level since 2019 is a glaring concern.
Meanwhile, Purdy’s ascent after relieving an injured Garoppolo in Week 13, one which helped the 49ers score an average of more than eight points per game, won’t go unnoticed.
So, why Lance over Purdy here?
Read More: Trey Lance now poised to start for 49ers over Brock Purdy
It’s pretty simple, honestly. Purdy can’t throw now. Until that elbow not only heals fully from surgery, as well as the time needed for the second-year pro to get up to strength, the final pick from the 2022 draft has to be the secondary option.
It’d be one thing if both quarterbacks were fully healthy. They’re not, though, and Purdy is much further behind in recovery time.
49ers quarterbacking option No. 1: Trey Lance
If Brock Purdy wasn’t dealing with a serious injury to his throwing arm, there’d be an excellent and almost-guaranteed chance he’d be No. 1 on this list. Not Trey Lance.
However, Lance is almost healthy. And despite the broken ankle being a serious injury, Lance should be ready to go by the time the Niners’ offseason program begins not long after this year’s NFL Draft.
That means Lance will have the chance to regain a rapport with his receiving targets and behind the offensive line, while Purdy will be occupied with recovery and conditioning to get back into football shape.
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It’s an advantage Lance can’t afford to miss.
San Francisco’s coaching staff will be monitoring, too. With Purdy already proving himself week after week amid the 49ers’ playoff run last season, Lance is vastly behind the proverbial 8-ball, and it’ll take an exceptional offseason program to show why he, not Purdy should be the No. 1 choice.
For now, almost by default, Lance is that choice. It’s his job to stay there now.