How Much does Kyle Shanahan Really Trust Brock Purdy?

Kyle Shanahan has trust issues when it comes to quarterbacks.

If Shanahan had it his way, he'd play the position himself. But he can't, so he tries his best to micromanage the quarterback on the field. We know he didn't trust Jimmy Garoppolo -- how could anyone? He made the same mistakes every week. Now, Shanahan has Brock Purdy, who has lost just one regular season game in his career.

Surely, Shanahan trusts Purdy fully, right?

A reporter asked Shanahan about that on Thursday. Here's what Shanahan said:

"Yeah, I mean I felt that with Jimmy (Garoppolo) when he was here too. I felt we had stability and everything and just those injuries were tough. And then Brock, when he came in last year, you're not sure. You know how he is in practice. We knew he had an opportunity, a chance to be like that. But those seven games last year that he played in, you knew it pretty well. He earned a lot of trust with me, earned a lot of trust with the players. Going into the offseason, how he handled his injury, how he just handled himself when he wasn't able to practice, just in the meeting rooms and everything. And through every experience with him in games this year, he has earned as much trust as you could have in a quarterback."

Shanahan's final sentence is interesting: "He has earned as much trust as you could have in a quarterback." How much trust could Shanahan have in a quarterback? Can he ever fully trust one? I have my doubts.

He turns on his quarterbacks quickly -- ask Garoppolo and Trey Lance. And the fact that Shanahan invoked Garoppolo immediately when answering about Purdy is not a good sign. Remember, Shanahan was never enthusiastic about Garoppolo. Always took credit for his success. Now, it seems like Shanahan is calling Purdy a more durable Garoppolo. Not the highest praise.

Then consider the 49ers rank dead last in the NFL at 27.3 pass attempts per game.

So sure, Shanahan probably trusts Purdy to the extent he can trust any quarterback. But that's a low bar.