The 49ers are transitioning to a new starting quarterback for the second time this season and head coach Kyle Shanahan thinks it will be easier this time even though new starter Brock Purdy is a rookie who joined the team as a seventh-round pick.
That’s not because the 49ers already had to shift gears from Trey Lance to Jimmy Garoppolo, however. Shanahan said on Wednesday that he thinks Garoppolo and Purdy have “similar skill sets,” which is a significant difference from what the team had to deal with when they were turning from Lance to Garoppolo earlier this season.
“I think it was a little bit bigger from Trey to Jimmy, just in terms of the running element that Trey had,” Shanahan said, via 49ersWebzone.com. “Just how he looked at a game plan, how we positioned the formations and stuff to kind of keep him always as a threat as a runner. Jimmy and Brock aren’t necessarily running threats, so you don’t sit there and design stuff like that, but they’re definitely both mobile enough to make plays with their legs.”
Purdy looked good against the Dolphins last Sunday in his first extended playing time this season and the 49ers have shown nothing but confidence in his ability since he moved up to the top spot on the depth chart. He will look to keep both trends going against the Buccaneers this weekend.