Not a good sign for Trey Lance.
49ers Players Reportedly Take Same Side On Trey Lance, Brock Purdy Debate
With the 49ers announcing yesterday that Jimmy Garoppolo isn't expected to return next season, San Francisco will likely enter their 2023 campaign with two quarterbacks dueling for the starting job.
The first, San Francisco's starter for the final eight games this season, will be Brock Purdy. 2022's 'Mr. Irrelevant' shocked the football world down the stretch, leading the 49ers to the No. 2 seed in the NFC and a conference title game appearance.
On the other side of the ring is former No. 3 overall pick Trey Lance. While the high-upside, duel-threat signal caller has displayed flashes early in his NFL career, he suffered a season-ending leg injury just two games into this season.
According to Matt Maiocco of 49ers Talk, the San Francisco locker room appears to have taken an early side on the starting quarterback debate next year.
"I think there will be a lot of pissed off people in this locker room if Brock Purdy is not the starter next season," Maiocco said, referencing what he's heard from 49ers' players.
View: https://twitter.com/coach_yac/status/1621203789075079171?s=61&t=WgXXtMK3gYMChAxvyEF7Aw
While much can change before the start of the 2023 season, if what Maiocco said is accurate, it's likely that Purdy's tangible success commanding the San Francisco offense led to the sentiment.
Although the 49ers gave up a king's ransom to land Lance in the 2021 draft, he's only suited up for 8 career games and has started just two. Additionally, he's struggled compared to Purdy in limited appearances.
Making note of the small sample size, Purdy has outclassed Lance in metrics such as completion percentage (67.1 vs 54.9), quarterback rating (107.3 vs 84.5) and touchdown-to-interception ratio (13 TD-4 INT vs 5 TD-3 INT).
Where Lance does have the definitive advantage, though, is rushing ability. In eight career games, Lance has tallied 235 yards rushing on an efficient, 4.4 yards per carry while Purdy has gained just 13 yards on 22 attempts.
Who do you think should be the 49ers' starting quarterback next season?