The battle to back up Brock Purdy has reportedly come to an end.
NFL Media reports that the 49ers will have Sam Darnold in the No. 2 spot behind Purdy for the start of the regular season. Darnold signed with the team this offseason after ineffective runs as a starter with the Jets and Panthers.
Darnold was competing with Trey Lance in a battle of former third overall picks. Lance is in his third year with the team, so he came into the competition with more experience in Kyle Shanahan’s system. That didn’t prove to be enough for him to position himself as the next man up for the defending NFC West champions, however.
In many cases, losing out on a backup job would be the end of a quarterback’s run with their current team. The change in NFL rules allowing for the use of an emergency quarterback if teams keep three on their 53-man roster could change that, especially with the 49ers all too aware of the perils of finding yourself without a healthy quarterback in the middle of a game.
The next week will bring an answer to Lance’s immediate future with the team, but it clearly hasn’t gone as the 49ers expected when they traded up to take him in 2021.
