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San Francisco 49ers CEO Jed York has always appreciated coach Kyle Shanahan’s honesty starting from the time of his first interview when he called the team’s roster the worst in the NFL.
So, York didn’t know what he would hear when Shanahan told him he needed to talk about a week into 2022 training camp.
“He’s like, ‘I think our third-string quarterback is our best quarterback,’” York recalled Thursday as his team prepares for the Super Bowl. “I’m like, ‘OK. What does that mean?”
It meant a lot — considering the 49ers had traded three first-round picks to draft Trey Lance third overall a little more than a year before that and still had Jimmy Garoppolo and his more than $20 million salary on the roster after he had helped the team reach the Super Bowl in the 2019 season and the NFC title game the previous year.
“One thing that owners don’t love to hear when they’ve invested money and or draft picks or both into people is that the last pick in the draft is the guy that we think is the best,” York said. “That’s generally not great news. But he’s honest and he let it play out the right way.”
The Niners went into that season with Lance as the starter, Garoppolo back as the No. 2 QB on a reduced salary and the overlooked Purdy as third-stringer.
Lance got hurt in Week 2, leading to Garoppolo taking over. Purdy got a brief cameo in a Week 7 loss to Kansas City, throwing one interception and another errant pass into the stands.
“I may or may not have had some sarcastic comments here for Kyle postgame,” York said.
But when Garoppolo then went down in Week 13, Purdy stepped in and has never relinquished the job.
He won his first seven starts to get the Niners to the NFC title game before his injured elbow on the opening drive derailed that game against Philadelphia.
That didn’t shock York, who had been prepared for the possibility months earlier.
“When Brock took over last year, I think we had a calm about us, but there was a sense that nothing…
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/49ers-owner-shanahan-instantly-liked-brock-purdy-over-jimmy-g-trey-lance
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Publish date : 2024-02-02 05:48:50
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