49ers Owner Reveals When Kyle Shanahan Knew Brock Purdy Was Better Than Jimmy Garoppolo

The San Francisco 49ers have dealt with a bunch of quarterback drama over the last few years, but they ultimately made the right choice settling on Brock Purdy as their starter. The second-year player took over for the injured Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance last year, and Purdy outlasted them on the roster.

Purdy may have been the last pick of the 2022 NFL draft, but head coach Kyle Shanahan seemed to know he was special immediately. While speaking with the media on Thursday, 49ers owner Jed York said Shanahan told him before the 2022 season that Purdy was the best quarterback on the team. 

49ers owner Jed York just revealed that Kyle Shanahan told him he thought Brock Purdy would be SF's best quarterback all the way back in training camp of 2022 — when Purdy was still a rookie and the 49ers had both Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance on the roster

— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) February 1, 2024

At the time, the 49ers were committed to giving Lance a chance as the starting quarterback, while Garoppolo returned as the backup. If what York is saying is true, then it says a lot that Shanahan thought Purdy was the best quarterback on the roster just a year after Lance was the team’s No. 3 overall pick, and over two years after Garoppolo led the team to the Super Bowl.

After last year, when Purdy led the 49ers to the NFC championship game, San Francisco let Garoppolo go in free agency and traded Lance to the Dallas Cowboys. While Purdy is now in the Super Bowl, Garoppolo was benched by the Las Vegas Raiders and Lance spent the season as a third-stringer.

Purdy clearly has Shanahan’s full trust, and he has helped bring the team one game from a championship.