Before Purdy returns, what split to you envision for Lance and Darnold?

Until Purdy returns, how do you see Shanahan splitting reps at QB?

And once Purdy returns, will he assume 1st team reps immediately or will it be 50/50 for whomever is leading the first competition?

We talking about practice, or we talking about the game?

Originally posted by NinerBuff:

Until Purdy returns, how do you see Shanahan splitting reps at QB?

And once Purdy returns, will he assume 1st team reps immediately or will it be 50/50 for whomever is leading the first competition?

I think Lance gets the lion's share by a good margin.

Originally posted by thl408:
We talking about practice, or we talking about the game?

Starting with OTAs and going forward.

Good article that covers some of this topic, from the one and only Jack Hammer

Ever since Kyle Shanahan said he expects Trey Lance and Sam Darnold to both get reps with the first team during OTA's there have been questions and concerns about the impact on the development of Lance. Some have gone as far as to say a competition would take snaps away from Lance.

The reality is Lance's development won't be affected and he won't lose any snaps unless he falls to number three on the depth chart.
Let's cover the snaps first.

During offseason practices and training camp the starting group and backup group take the same number of snaps unless they're in a move the ball period while the third unit takes half.
The number of snaps taken in move the ball periods can fluctuate depending on how efficiently the quarterback and offense do just that, move the ball.
Naturally the next question is, "isn't taking away some of the first team snaps bad then?"

The answer is simply, no. Nothing changes. The coaches continue putting in the same effort, in fact Kyle Shanahan has stated many times he is more concerned with the process of the quarterback going to the correct spot than the result of the play during practice.

The reality is the offensive line and quarterbacks are the only groups that don't rotate between the first, second and third teams.

For example, a highlight of training camp last year came when rookie quarterback Brock Purdy, playing with the third group as he did throughout camp, hit Brandon Aiyuk deep down the left sideline in stride for a would-be touchdown. Lance had several of the same occurrences while working with the second group in 2021 as well.

It boils down to how each player performs. Darnold and Lance both have exceptional traits which is why they were the third player chosen in their respective draft class.

May the best player win.

Never been a fan of Darnold. I hope Trey quickly relegates Sam to QB 3.

Originally posted by Memphis9er:
Never been a fan of Darnold. I hope Trey quickly relegates Sam to QB 3.

to be honest I've never been a fan of him either,
until we signed him

the signing made a lot of sense to me, he has 55 starts, that is something this QB room needed

There's no reason Sam should get any of the first team reps. Definitely not the majority at least.

Lance knows the system better, he was the starter last year. He'll enter that spot by default without Purdy there. It also gives him more opportunities to continue to drill in the reported mechanical corrections he's made.

Originally posted by OnTheClock:
There's no reason Sam should get any of the first team reps. Definitely not the majority at least.

Lance knows the system better, he was the starter last year. He'll enter that spot by default without Purdy there. It also gives him more opportunities to continue to drill in the reported mechanical corrections he's made.

Do you think there's anything Lance can do to surpass Purdy (assuming Purdy is ready for week 1)?

Originally posted by NinerBuff:

Originally posted by OnTheClock:

There's no reason Sam should get any of the first team reps. Definitely not the majority at least.

Lance knows the system better, he was the starter last year. He'll enter that spot by default without Purdy there. It also gives him more opportunities to continue to drill in the reported mechanical corrections he's made.

Do you think there's anything Lance can do to surpass Purdy (assuming Purdy is ready for week 1)?

By week one, no I doubt it. If he plays a few weeks, then maybe he has a shot if he shows out. But I still think Purdy holds on unless he starts really struggling. That's the only other option IMO, that the NFL catches up to Brock faster than we expect and we need to make a change.

By mid-season last year, Purdy was NFL ready. His experience, processing speed (especially under pressure) and playmaking ability put him ahead. He was still late on some throws and missed others, but not quite as often as Trey and that was a key difference you saw in experience versus inexperience.

He doesn't have a rocket, but still took the deep shots and trusted his arm and playmakers to get it done.

In score terms right now, it feels like Brock has a 16 point lead on Lance with 2 minutes left. Lance might be able to do some things to get close, but there's just not going to be enough time for him to do enough to surpass Purdy.

Lance is more physically gifted but Purdy is more ready mentally and looks like a natural playmaker right now, perhaps partly because he doesn't have to think quite as much. I think it's gonna be real interesting when Trey gets on a more even level with the mental stuff. I'd expect things would really take off then. No one knows when or if that will happen though, so you have to go with what got you far most recently.

Originally posted by OnTheClock:
There's no reason Sam should get any of the first team reps. Definitely not the majority at least.

Lance knows the system better, he was the starter last year. He'll enter that spot by default without Purdy there. It also gives him more opportunities to continue to drill in the reported mechanical corrections he's made.

This.

Originally posted by Polkadots:

Originally posted by OnTheClock:
There's no reason Sam should get any of the first team reps. Definitely not the majority at least.

Lance knows the system better, he was the starter last year. He'll enter that spot by default without Purdy there. It also gives him more opportunities to continue to drill in the reported mechanical corrections he's made.

This.

not this, may the best player play

Originally posted by 49AllTheTime:
not this, may the best player play

You can't know this without splitting the reps. Hence the question. And hence the responses.

Originally posted by OnTheClock:
There's no reason Sam should get any of the first team reps. Definitely not the majority at least.

Lance knows the system better, he was the starter last year. He'll enter that spot by default without Purdy there. It also gives him more opportunities to continue to drill in the reported mechanical corrections he's made.

see above post, a split of reps doesn't lose any snaps or development to TL
post is #5

Originally posted by 49erFaithful6:

Originally posted by OnTheClock:
There's no reason Sam should get any of the first team reps. Definitely not the majority at least.

Lance knows the system better, he was the starter last year. He'll enter that spot by default without Purdy there. It also gives him more opportunities to continue to drill in the reported mechanical corrections he's made.

see above post, a split of reps doesn't lose any snaps or development to TL
post is #5

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