The San Francisco 49ers await a resolution to their quarterback situation. The hope continues to be that Brock Purdy, last year's surprise rookie, will be ready to go in time for Week 1. He is recovering from March 10 surgery to repair the torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow and may not practice until late August at the earliest.
In the meantime, a pair of former No. 3 overall picks, Trey Lance and Sam Darnold, are competing for the QB2 job and potential Week 1 starting job if Purdy is not cleared to play.
The 49ers roster remains stacked, and most consider the team a championship contender no matter who is under center. Why is that the case when quarterback is regarded as the most critical position in sports?
"I think [general manager] John Lynch and [head coach] Kyle Shanahan did such a great job of creating this roster," Kittle said Tuesday on NFL Network's Good Morning Football, "with depth and All-Star players at multiple positions, at important positions, that whatever happens at the quarterback position, we definitely have a chance to win a lot of football games. And we're in prime position to get back to that [NFC Championship Game] that we lost in last year.
We've got @gkittle46 at the breakfast table!
🔘 Are the @49ers still a top contender regardless of the QB under center?
— Good Morning Football (@gmfb) June 13, 2023
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"From [DE] Nick Bosa to [T] Trent Williams to [WR] Deebo Samuel, [WR Brandon] Aiyuk, [FB] Kyle Juszczyk, [RB] Christian McCaffrey, [RB] Elijah Mitchell, [LB] Fred Warner, [LB] Drake Greenlaw, [CB] Charvarius Ward, [S Talanoa] Hufanga, [S Tashaun] Gipson, we have so many guys in this team that can play at a high level. [DT] Arik Armstead. Goodness, gracious. We have so many good players."
That's a lot of talent around the quarterback ... whoever that ends up being. San Francisco has appeared in the NFC Championship Game during three of the last four seasons and will look to get over the hump in 2023. The team feels it has three great quarterback options heading into the season.
"Yes, having a fantastic quarterback would help us out a lot because it is the most important position in probably sports," Kittle continued, "but we have three or four guys right now that can sling the ball a little bit. Brock Purdy went on an 8-0 tear last year, so hopefully, he's feeling back to his normal self.
"Trey Lance has taken steps forward. I think he's more than suitable to play quarterback for us. He had some great reps at OTAs (organized team activities). We connected on a couple of big plays. He connected with Aiyuk on a couple of big plays. And hey, Sam Darnold came in, he threw some good balls, too, connected on big plays with Aiyuk, me, other tight ends.
"So, quarterbacks are moving. We'll get some reps in this training camp (and the end of July), get a feel for everybody, and let's just go play some football."