49ers news: Mandatory minicamp left us with these 5 major takeaways

49ers minicamp takeaway No. 1: Brock Purdy might return sooner than expected

Hyping up the competition between Trey Lance and Sam Darnold might be silly simply because the starting job already belongs to Brock Purdy.

At least that's the feeling.

One speculative piece from NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco suggested the second-year quarterback could potentially return to the field roughly 20 days prior to the start of the regular season.

If that's the case, the Niners merely have to settle the depth chart behind the final pick from the 2022 draft.

At any rate, Purdy is at the facility but isn't participating in any team-related drills, of course.

Plus, according to 49ers.com, Purdy is right on schedule to return as anticipated:

"The second-year pro was cleared to begin a throwing program last week during the team's second week of OTA practices, and to date, he has not suffered any setbacks since his UCL repair surgery in early March. Shanahan did not offer many details on Purdy other than reiterating he is "right on pace" with his projected recovery timeline."

While this might not be the best of news for either Lance or Darnold, it's certainly great news for Purdy.

And probably the Niners, too, assuming he's their unquestioned starter moving forward.

San Francisco won't get back on the field together until training camp in late July, and those dates are yet to be announced.

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