The San Francisco 49ers were undoubtedly one of the best teams in the NFL during the 2022 regular season and playoffs, and they achieved success under some serious adversity.
They overcame a slew of injuries early on in the season and stumbled out to a 3-4 record and seemed to be headed for another underachieving campaign. Trey Lance, their starting quarterback who the front office spent loads of draft capital to acquire, suffered a season-ending injury in Week 2, cutting his sophomore campaign short. He was replaced by a familiar face in Jimmy Garoppolo, who helped lead the team regain their footing and climb to a mark of 7-4.
Who Will Be Under Center for the San Francisco 49ers in 2023?
When Garoppolo went down in a Week 13 game against the Dolphins, the Brock Purdy Era began, and the 7th round rookie was the talk of the NFL due to his run with the team. Down to their 3rd string quarterback, the 49ers never lost again in the regular season, and Purdy was 8-0 going into the NFC Championship game.
Against the Eagles with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line, Purdy finally ran out of good fortune. He was injured early in the game, and replaced by Josh Johnson, who was playing for his 13th NFL team and was the 4th quarterback that San Francisco had used during the 2022 season. Misfortune continued when Johnson suffered a head injury during the game, leading to emergency QB Christian McCaffrey having to take a few snaps.
The hodgepodge of quarterbacks will make for an interesting off-season for the 49ers, who will have to decide on the futures of these three players:
Jimmy Garoppolo
Garoppolo is as good as gone in San Francisco. Yes, that’s what we all thought last season, too, but that was before the emergence of Mr. Irrelevant.
The 32-year-old will be a free agent, and while he is no longer the commodity that he once, there will be a team that takes a chance on Garoppolo.
Whether that role entails being a starter or a backup remains to be seen, but the 49ers will likely be out on his services in 2023.
Trey Lance
Trey Lance remains a question mark. He has just four career starts in his first two seasons, and his numbers are average in the small sample size.
He was shuffled in and out of the lineup during his rookie season as he and Garoppolo traded off injuries, but the team eventually opted for the veteran to lead them on their playoff run. Lance’s second season ended after just two starts due to his ankle injury.
He’ll be the guy that San Francisco hopes takes the reins as the outright starter. The 49ers front office traded two first round picks (and a third) in order to move up and acquire him in the 2021 NFL Draft, meaning that they have him tagged as the quarterback of the future.
They’ll have an expensive backup if Mr. Irrelevant can carry his hot play over into 2023…
Brock Purdy
The fans and the media will likely have a favorite in the race for 49ers starting quarterback.
The Brock Purdy story dominated the headlines as San Francisco made their ascent in 2022, given his draft position and unlikely leader of what was thought to be one of the best teams in football. He is easy to love with his youthful appearance and cinderella-like story, but there will be questions about whether or not he is actually the quarterback for the present and future of a team with such high aspirations.
All signs have pointed to Purdy being ready for the challenge, however.
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