49ers News: Trey Lance 'Really Struggled' on Day 3 of Training Camp amid QB Battle

Trey Lance's hopes of challenging Brock Purdy to be the starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers hit a rough patch during Friday's practice.

In an unofficial stat sheet from The Athletic's David Lombardi, Lance "really struggled" going 1-of-4 and missed two gimme throws.

Lombardi also pointed out the "major concern" for the 49ers coaching staff continues to be Lance's accuracy on short throws.

The Athletic's Matt Barrows noted Lance is 7-of-14 in 11-on-11 situations through the first three days of training camp and provided additional context for some of the inaccuracy issues on Friday.

"Friday's first attempt, for example, was a quickie toss to tight end Brayden Willis that ended up in the dirt. His second throw was just as off target," Barrows wrote. "He had tailback Jordan Mason running a shallow route across the line of scrimmage and threw it in front of him by four feet."

Any hope of a true quarterback competition for the 49ers probably ended when general manager John Lynch announced earlier this week that Brock Purdy was cleared to practice without restriction after he had elbow surgery in March.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan said at the same time the current plan is to have Purdy throw two out of every three days initially and take reps with the first team when he is practicing.

If there were any setbacks in Purdy's recovery or he was unable to start practicing until late in the preseason, it could have opened the door for Lance or Sam Darnold to at least open the regular season as the starter.

But Lynch has been adamant that Purdy has "earned the right" to be the starter because of how he played when he took over last season after Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a broken foot in Week 13.

Purdy told reporters on Thursday he hasn't discussed who will start in Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers with the coaching staff at this point. The fact he's getting first-team reps when he does practice seems like a strong indication who it will be.

The real battle at this point might be for the No. 2 job between Lance and Darnold. San Francisco signed Darnold to a one-year deal worth $3.5 million guaranteed in free agency.

There were trade rumors around Lance during the offseason, though Lynch told reporters in April there haven't "been many offers" for the 23-year-old.

Lance opened 2022 as San Francisco's starting quarterback, but he suffered a fractured fibula and ligament disruption in the first quarter of a Week 2 win over the Seattle Seahawks that ended his season.

The 49ers selected Lance with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft after trading three first-round picks and a third-rounder to the Miami Dolphins to move up. Lance has completed 54.9 percent of his attempts for 797 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions in eight games over the past two seasons.