49ers best offseason story line is one that isn’t happening
Can we take a moment to appreciate something we’ve not had to really write about or cover this offseason? The 49ers for the first time in a long time have no offseason drama at quarterback. There are no questions, there’s just a healthy Brock Purdy coming off a terrific second season as a pro, lined up as the team’s starting QB for the start of the 2024 season.
What a fun thing!
In the 2017 offseason we had to consider all the options in the draft with Kyle Shanahan assuming the head coach role.
In 2018 we had to wonder whether the team would pay Jimmy Garoppolo or franchise tag him.
In 2019 Garoppolo was coming off an ACL injury.
In 2020 Garoppolo was coming off a rough Super Bowl performance and questions about his long-term viability as a starting QB started to sprout.
In 2021 the 49ers drafted Trey Lance and threw Garoppolo’s future into massive flux.
In 2022 Lance took over and Garoppolo was supposed to be gone, but then it turns out he wasn’t.
In 2023 Purdy was coming off major elbow surgery and his status was up in the air enough that we had to ponder the merits of a Lance vs. Sam Darnold quarterback battle.
This offseason the only drama under center was how the 49ers would navigate the QB2 and QB3 spots on their depth chart. That’s how Super Bowl contenders typically operate in an offseason. They have no questions about what’s happening at quarterback, and instead get to focus on the things we’ve gotten to look at this year. We’ve gotten to dive into things like offensive line help, defensive line depth, Brandon Aiyuk’s future and other very important, non-quarterback things.
None of this is to say there won’t be more question marks in the near future. Purdy after the 2024 season will be extension eligible. There’ll be questions about how much he should be paid and what other pieces the team can/should keep with a more expensive signal caller atop the QB depth chart. With that comes additional scrutiny each year Purdy and the 49ers don’t hoist a Lombardi Trophy.
For now we’ll kick that can down the road though and enjoy at least one year of offseason certainty at QB for the 49ers. It may be the last one for awhile.
