San Francisco 49ers legend Joe Montana is the latest to weigh in on his former team’s quarterback issues.
The 49ers played three quarterbacks during the season though all eventually suffered serious injuries.
It was a rough year for 49ers' quarterbacks 🤕
09/18/22 ➡️ Trey Lance fractures his fibula
12/04/22 ➡️ Jimmy Garoppolo breaks his foot
01/29/23 ➡️ Brock Purdy tears his UCL pic.twitter.com/BdJLIZNXGs— Bally Sports (@BallySports) January 31, 2023
They were Trey Lance, Jimmy Garoppolo, and Brock Purdy.
Last week, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan gave his first indication of who will not be in the running to be the 2023 QB1: Jimmy Garoppolo.
He believes Garoppolo will not be with the team in 2023.
Kyle Shanahan says he doesn’t see a scenario where Jimmy Garoppolo returns to the 49ers next season pic.twitter.com/L8vx9IdoaH
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) February 1, 2023
This apparently did not impact or factor into Montana’s thought process.
What Montana Said
He believes the team should go with Garoppolo because he was winning.
Montana is correct that Garoppolo won the most regular season games of the three during 2022.
Lance was 1-1.
Garoppolo was 7-3.
Purdy was 5-0.
(He also went 2-1 in the playoffs).
"You gotta go with the guy that's been winning the games"
—@JoeMontana gives @MikeSilver his surprising pick for the @49ers starting QB next season pic.twitter.com/HIiqvpgBCs
— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) February 5, 2023
Montana thinks that Lance is unproven.
Given that he only played two games before getting injured and being out for the season, he is not wrong.
Purdy’s injury and timeline for recovery make him a definite question mark despite his 2022 success.
Years Later, Montana Still Holds A Grudge
30 years later, Montana obviously still holds a grudge about losing his QB1 role to Steve Young.
He makes a reference about “handing a guy a team” that seemed to be laced with irony.
His personal experience as the quarterback who lost his job while recovering from injury could be another reason that Montana is putting his support behind Garoppolo.
The 49ers Enter 2023 With A Quarterback Problem…Again
It is like Groundhog Day over and over again for the San Francisco 49ers with their quarterbacks.
Despite Garoppolo leading them to the 2020 Super Bowl and ultimately losing to the Kansas City Chiefs, the 49ers traded up for Lance in the 2021 NFL Draft.
He has always been perceived as the heir apparent; the timeline was what was not clear.
There was preseason drama in both 2021 and 2022 regarding Lance’s availability and readiness to be QB1.
With Garoppolo a free agent and likely out the door, the timeline is becoming very clear.
It looks as though it is now or never in 2023 for Trey Lance, despite what Joe Montana or anyone else believes.
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