The 2022 season was supposed to be Trey Lance’s first as a full-time starter.
But that plan changed when Lance suffered a broken ankle in Week Two.
The No. 3 pick of the 2021 draft watched as Jimmy Garoppolo started for most of the year. But then after he got hurt, rookie Brock Purdy took over and helped pilot San Francisco to the NFC Championship Game.
Lance said on Tuesday that he felt there were “absolutely” things he learned from watching Purdy’s stint as QB1.
“Brock, he plays the game the right way. That’s why he had so much success,” Lance said, via David Bonilla of 49erswebzone.com. “I was just super excited for him. He worked his butt off, all OTAs, since the first day he got here, since the day he got drafted. So he deserved everything he got this year and more. I truly believe that.
“Just tried to help him as much as I could. Learned a lot from him, as well. Just from a human being standpoint, he’s a great person, someone that I see a lot of myself in, so it’s great for me to be able to have a quarterback room like we did throughout the year.”
Lance added that he was impressed by how Purdy handled himself over the final stretch of the season.
“You can talk about throws all day. He can make every throw in the world, and he showed that throughout the year,” Lance said. “But just how he handled himself, the way he inserted himself in the offense, the way he was treating other people, really. He treated guys, first day in the building, on practice squad the same as Nick Bosa. So I think that says a lot about him as a person.”
There’s a ton of time between now and the start of the 2023 regular season. But at this point, it seems like there could be a QB competition coming between Lance and Purdy — though with Purdy’s UCL tear, Lance could have an advantage heading into training camp.