49ers Insider: Brock Purdy 'Clear Favorite' to Be QB1 over Trey Lance, Sam Darnold

It appeared that the San Francisco 49ers would be set for a competition at starting quarterback this offseason, but that reportedly is not the case.

According to Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports, Brock Purdy is viewed as "the clear favorite to open the season as the 49ers' starting quarterback" over Trey Lance and Sam Darnold.

Maiocco noted that Purdy has completed his first week of throwing a regulation-sized football, which is a progression in his recovery from surgery in March to repair the UCL in his right elbow. There is optimism within the 49ers organization that he'll be ready to take the field in Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 10.

"I mean, we're hoping for Week 1 and feeling pretty optimistic about that. That's what we're hoping for, he'll be ready to play in Week 1," San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan said of Purdy on May 23. "And usually that doesn't mean that's the day he comes back—usually you've got to come before that to make that goal. And that's kind of the goal we're hoping for and don't have any reason to think differently."

More recently, 49ers general manager John Lynch indicated that Purdy had the inside track toward earning the starting position.

"We think Brock probably is the leader in the clubhouse, as we said, but it will be open for competition, and it's those guys' opportunity to go in [and] earn that job," Lynch said last week on SiriusXM NFL Radio, per Maiocco.

Lance, the No. 3 pick in 2021, is also working his way back from injury after he suffered a broken ankle in Week 2 of the 2022 season. The 49ers reportedly "received inquiries from several teams looking into a potential trade" for Lance prior to the 2023 draft in April, but he wound up staying put.

While San Francisco invested a lot in Lance by trading three first-round picks to move up to select him, it sounds like he will spend the 2023 season as the primary backup to Purdy, who has seen a meteoric rise since being the last player selected in the 2022 draft.