The San Francisco 49ers are one game away from reaching the Super Bowl for the second consecutive season.
While they got there with defense and Jimmy Garoppolo last season, they have Brock Purdy leading their offense this season.
However, the season for the 49ers didn’t start with Purdy under center.
It began with Trey Lance starting as quarterback.
While he was the starting quarterback, a season-ending injury put him on the sidelines.
Because of his injury, and Purdy’s rise to stardom, Skip Bayless had to ask the ultimate question for the 49ers.
Is Trey Lance is now “expendable” as Purdy’s star is rising in the NFL?
Has Brock Purdy’s astonishing rise made Trey Lance expendable? Now on @undisputed
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) January 25, 2023
It’s a legitimate question to ask, as the seventh-round pick now leads his team in the NFC Championship Game.
While Lance is a former first-round pick, he never had time to shine in 2022.
He only played in two games, neither of which saw him impressing anyone.
However, it’s rare for a team to cut ties with a high value quarterback after two seasons with the team.
While it’s been done before, as the Arizona Cardinals did this with Josh Rosen after one season, it’s not likely to happen.
The team invested too much to get Lance back in 2021.
Bailing on him now will cost them, as his value has gone down.
The team will never get what they paid to draft him, meaning they might keep him.
However, if Purdy wins a Super Bowl this season, it will make it hard for the 49ers to turn things back over to their first-round draft pick.
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Roch B. says
You have two young quarterbacks on their rookie contracts. They both have been thoroughly embedded in the 49ers complex offense system.. What the heck is the problem here!. No matter what happens the rest of this year, next year you have a open completion, and let the best man win. Period. You have a starter, a back up, at a cap friendly price..
Milt says
Absolutely correct! The 49ers have a starter and primary backup quarterbacks at extreme team-friendly cost for next season. Purdy has already proven he can successfully run Shanahan’s offense. Lance hasn’t really had the opportunity to show whether or not he can and whether or not he can take it to an even higher level. The decision on which quarterback the.49ers should keep as the near-term and long-term solutions to the position probably doesn’t need to be made until this situation plays itself out.