Kyle Shanahan Explains why Brock Purdy has Surpassed Trey Lance on the Depth Chart
PHOENIX -- Kyle Shanahan spoke Tuesday morning about the 49ers' murky quarterback situation. Here's what he said.
Q: John Lynch said Brock Purdy is the leader in the clubhouse in terms of the pecking order at quarterback. What's your take on that?
SHANAHAN: "It would have been pretty easy if Brock was healthy. The way Brock played last year, he'd be the starter going into it. Trey had that position going into the year, we were real excited about that and think he would have had a hell of a year. He only got one and a half games and he went out, which opened an opportunity for Jimmy. Jimmy got hurt, and opened it up for Brock. And Brock played eight games and won all of them and played at an extremely high level. We're very excited to have that level of player at quarterback. Now, we believe Trey can be that. I think he would have done it last year if he had stayed healthy. The good thing for him is with Brock being hurt, he has an opportunity to try to regain that. It's also why we brought in Sam Darnold. We can't be set for sure on Brock, because you never know how the injury will go. We think it will go well, we're optimistic about it, but right now that's on hold. And that opens up an opportunity for Trey and Sam to come in and show us what they have."
Q: Can Trey win the job without playing regular season games?
SHANAHAN: "It's going to be harder for him to do. Brock played in eight games. Trey had that job going into last season, and if he had played eight games like that, no one else would have been able to come in and beat him out. But with Brock being hurt, it does give him the chance. Now, I don't know how Brock is going to come back or exactly when, so I don't have the exact answer. Right now, because he is hurt, it's nice to focus on Trey and Sam and see how they do in OTAs and leading into training camp."
Q: What have your conversations with Trey been like this offseason?
SHANAHAN: "Same as they always are. I see him here and there -- he's up in the office sometimes. His rehab is going well. He started throwing. He has been traveling around, working with some quarterback coaches and throwing the ball. We're excited to get into Phase 1 of OTAs and start working with him."
Q: How's Trey's attitude with Brock taking over?
SHANAHAN: "As good as it can be. Trey is a great person, but he's also smart and he knows what he saw. He knows the level Brock played at. I talk to Trey the same way I'm talking to you guys now, so he gets it. I think Trey is just excited to be healthy and excited to come in and get those reps and show what he can do."
Q: Why do you like Sam Darnold?
SHANAHAN: "Sam has as good of a skillset as there is -- that's why he went as the third pick in the draft. When you study his play, you can see it. He hasn't always been in the best situations, which is tough for a quarterback. He has done some really good things in this league. Hasn't won a ton of games, but has been thrown in some situations where you're going to keep both teams in the game because you have to sling that ball for your team to have a chance to win, so you don't always have the best stats, but you see the ability. He always has had the ability since his first year in college when we started watching him. There's no reason he can't do it. Excited to get to know him as a person. I've always liked him as an athlete. I like how he throws. I like his athletic ability."
Q: Why is it so difficult to scout college quarterbacks?
SHANAHAN: "You have to be a good enough thrower. If you're not one of those elite guys in that way, you can make up for it in other ways. But the hardest thing with evaluating is how you're successful in college doesn't always equate to the NFL. There are certain schemes where you just play fast and spread it out. In the NFL, you have to sit in that pocket and play the quarterback position, which doesn't happen in college very much. That takes reps and a certain type of ability that you can't just measure -- you have to see him do it. Sometimes it takes until he's in the league to watch him do that, so it's always a crapshoot."
Q: Is it important for you guys to have quarterbacks who aren't highly paid?
SHANAHAN: "It's everything. A couple years ago, we realized some of the players we had drafted, guys like Fred Warner, George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, Nick Bosa, Dre Greenlaw -- we knew all those guys were coming up (for extensions). You can't keep all those guys unless you have a quarterback on a rookie deal. We saw where this was going. We made a decision to go to a rookie quarterback a few years ago, and that was Trey. And that's what has allowed us to sign all these guys. It's what has allowed us to sign Charvarius Ward last year and Javon Hargrave this year. It's what allows us to have a highly-paid left tackle. And that's why we went for Trey. And that's why I feel very fortunate that we hit on a seventh round pick, too. We were planning on it being Trey, and it doesn't mean it can't be Trey going forward, but that was the whole goal. If we could get a quarterback on a rookie deal to play at a high enough level that we thought we could win with, then we thought we could build our team."
Q: What do you need to see from Lance to reconsider who your starter will be?
SHANAHAN: "I just want to see him get healthy and start taking reps. He had a very rough injury that you can recover from, but it's been very long. He's finally there. I want to see him play football. Hopefully you see him get back to where he left off and take a few steps forward after that."
ME: Would you be comfortable starting Brock Week 1 if he misses all of training camp or would that complicate your decision?
SHANAHAN: "I have to see people practice. We're going to start whoever gives us the best chance to win. Brock is the guy who is leading that, because we've seen him play. But he's hurt right now, and I don't know if we'll have him Week 1. I don't know if we'll have him in training camp. They say in two months from now we'll have a better idea of where it's going to go, so I'll wait and see."
Q: Would you trade Trey Lance?
SHANAHAN: "I feel we're in a very good situation at quarterback where we drafted a guy we really wanted, and we don't feel any different about him now than we did three years ago when we took him. It's just unfortunate that he hasn't gotten to play. He was going to play last year and I think people were going to be very impressed with him, but he got hurt. That opened opportunities, and now we have another guy who can play very well, we have Sam Darnold who can play and I hope all three of these guys are with us, but we'll listen to anything."
Q: What's the timeline for Brock's recovery?
SHANAHAN: "He won't be able to do anything on the field for who knows -- it could go anywhere from six months to eight months. We'll have a better idea when we're three months out of surgery. That's all I know. I'm good with that. We'll see in three months if he can be ready for camp. If not, it might be Week 1. I'm hearing at the latest Week 4. That's just an estimation. We'll see what happens."
Q: Will you keep three quarterbacks?
SHANAHAN: "You can't dress three for a game."
Q: You could.
SHANAHAN: "Yeah you could, but that would hurt your team except for one game out of 1,000. Hopefully that won't happen to us again. If we have three quarterbacks who are capable of helping us win, you don't just get rid of those guys."
ME: Will Trey and Sam be sharing reps and competing this offseason or will Trey get all the first-team reps.
SHANAHAN: "I don't know yet. Actually, I do know. I expect them both to get first-team reps. But I like to see them on the field. In OTAs, I expect them both to work with the first team and see how that goes."
