Brock Purdy ‘has earned the right to take the first snap’ for the San Francisco 49ers, says GM

Brock Purdy ‘has earned the right to take the first snap’ for the San Francisco 49ers in the 2023 season, claims general manager John Lynch, pipping Trey Lance in the QB battle

San Francisco has three quarterbacks — Brock Purdy, Trey Lance and Sam Darnold — on its roster, but 49ers general manager John Lynch said one has a slight edge over the others in the race to be the 2023 starter.

‘I think Brock has earned the right with the way he played that he’s probably the leader in the clubhouse at that,’ Lynch said Monday at the NFL owners meetings in Phoenix. ‘If we were to line up, he’d probably take that first snap.’

Purdy had surgery to repair the torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right arm earlier this month.

Purdy, 23, made a stunning rise from being the last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft to leading the 49ers into the NFC Championship Game.

After quarterbacks Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo were injured in the regular season, Purdy took over and led the team to wins in each of the final five games. 

Brock Purdy’s been tipped to be the Niners’ starting QB in 2023 following his stellar rookie year

Lance, 22, was the third pick of the 2021 draft and has only played for the Niners eight times in the last two seasons

Darnold, 25, signed a one-year deal with the 49ers on March 16 after not not finding much success on the Carolina Panthers and the New York Jets

San Francisco’s other options at QB for the 2023 season are: Trey Lance (L) & Sam Darnold (R)

49ers GM John Lynch confirmed the team's QB ranking on Monday at the NFL owners meeting

49ers GM John Lynch confirmed the team’s QB ranking on Monday at the NFL owners meeting

Purdy and the 49ers then defeated the Seattle Seahawks and the Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs before falling to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC title game when the elbow injury occurred.

After fourth-stringer Josh Johnson went down with a concussion against the Eagles, Purdy returned to action but was unable to throw the ball more than a few yards.

In the regular season, Purdy completed 67.1 percent of his passes for 1,374 yards with 13 scoring passes and four interceptions. 

In the playoffs, he had a 65.1 percent completion rate while throwing for 569 yards and three TDs with no interceptions.

Lance, who entered the 2022 season as the starter, sustained a season-ending ankle injury in Week 2. 

Garoppolo signed with the Las Vegas Raiders in free agency. 

Earlier this month, retired, two-time Super Bowl champ’ Ben Roethsliberger claimed the 49ers reached out to him, two years after he announced his retirement.  

Jimmy Garoppolo was San Francisco's backup QB last season but joined the Las Vegas Raiders

Jimmy Garoppolo was San Francisco’s backup QB last season but joined the Las Vegas Raiders 

***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk