49ers have already made QB decision for 2023?

The San Francisco 49ers are currently riding rookie quarterback Brock Purdy to playoff success, and he has impressed many during his unexpected late-season audition. That audition has apparently made quite the impression on the team’s brass.

The 49ers have already privately decided that Purdy will get the chance to start in 2023 ahead of Trey Lance, according to Michael Silver of the San Francisco Chronicle. While the 49ers may publicly commit to an open competition, Purdy has won the trust of coach Kyle Shanahan in a way that Lance failed to do.

There are already hints that the 49ers are thinking this way, as evidenced by their plans for Jimmy Garoppolo if he winds up healthy enough to be active later in the playoffs.

If true, it raises questions about what the 49ers might opt to do with Lance, the player they traded up to draft third overall in 2021. Silver says a trade is possible, but that the 49ers will not come close to recouping the three first-round picks they gave up to move up for him. Lance may be well aware of what the team’s thinking is judging by a cryptic social media post he made recently.

Since taking over in Week 13 following Garoppolo’s injury, Purdy has yet to lose a game for the 49ers, and has shown a remarkable combination of poise and decision-making ability. The glowing praise he has received from his coach shows just how highly the organization thinks of him, and they appear ready to commit to him beyond the current playoff run.