49ers Rumors: 'No Question' Brock Purdy Will Be QB1 if Healthy vs. Steelers in Week 1

It turns out all of the offseason drama about who will start at quarterback in Week 1 for the San Francisco 49ers was for naught.

Per ESPN's Dan Graziano, there's "no question" Brock Purdy will open the regular season as the starter as long as he stays healthy.

There were questions about where Purdy's elbow would be at after he had elbow surgery on March 10 to repair the torn UCL he suffered in the first quarter of the NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

All indications about Purdy's recovery have been positive. 49ers general manager John Lynch told reporters prior to the start of training camp the 23-year-old was cleared without restrictions for practice.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan said the initial plan for Purdy in camp would be to throw two out of every three days before they started ramping him up, and he would work with the first-team offense.

The 49ers signed Sam Darnold in free agency as additional insurance and still have Trey Lance, the No. 3 pick in the 2021 NFL draft, on the roster. But there's nothing throughout the first two weeks of training camp to suggest the team is holding any sort of competition.

Purdy was listed as the first-string quarterback on the 49ers' unofficial depth chart released Thursday ahead of their preseason opener against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.

Shanahan told reporters this week Purdy is unlikely to play against the Raiders, but he did take first-team reps with the offense during Thursday's joint practice session between the two teams.

Purdy took over as San Francisco's quarterback in Week 13 last season after Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a broken foot in the first quarter against the Miami Dolphins. He went 5-0 in five starts, completing 68.6 percent of his attempts for 1,098 yards and 11 touchdowns in those games.

The 49ers open the regular season against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 10 at Acrisure Stadium.