With the serendipitous emergence of quarterback Brock Purdy following the foot injury to Jimmy Garoppolo, fans of the San Francisco 49ers feel like they may have found their franchise quarterback.
It has been a frustrating two decades for the team ever since the retirement of Steve Young, as it had Alex Smith, Colin Kaepernick and Garoppolo, all of whom were or are good signal-callers but not championship-caliber ones.
If Purdy continues to play well the rest of the way this season, it will set up a very interesting situation going into next season, as Garoppolo will be a free agent and second-year man Trey Lance, who suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Week 2, has potential but is still a question mark.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan was asked about that situation, and he made it clear he’s only focused on the present.
Kyle Shanahan’s response when asked about the #49ers’ QB situation in 2023.#FTTB pic.twitter.com/yznkPYIqhg
— 49ers Webzone (@49erswebzone) December 28, 2022
“No, I don’t even know what year it is after this season is over, so I’m trying to think about how to get him ready for Wednesday,” Shanahan said. “So it’s a great question but honestly I don’t look ahead like that. We’ve got a number of big games in front of us.”
With an 11-4 record and an eight-game winning streak, it would certainly serve San Francisco well to stay in the moment, as it has a real chance of winning its first Super Bowl in about a quarter-century.
Garoppolo Could Be On His Way Out
If Purdy is no mirage, would it really make sense to keep Garoppolo around for another year or two?
On the surface, it may make sense, but because the NFL is a business, overall it may not.
The 49ers need to give star defensive end Nick Bosa a contract extension soon, and Garoppolo won’t be cheap to retain.
In addition, they cannot simply give up on Lance given how much capital they gave up to get him, and if they looked to trade him, they likely wouldn’t get much in return for him.
NEXT: Could Brock Purdy Keep The 49ers Starting Job?