49ers’ Kyle Shanahan praises Sam Darnold amid Week 1 rumors

It sounds like San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan would be comfortable having Sam Darnold as his starting quarterback for at least a portion of the 2023 season. 

“I don’t think he’s always been in the best situations, which is tough for quarterbacks,” Shanahan said of Darnold during the annual league meetings, per Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. “It’s tough for all players, but it is one position, and it depends on the other 10 guys around you, too. And I think Sam has played and done some really good things in this league but hasn’t won a ton of games and been thrown in some situations where you’re going to keep both teams in the game because you got to keep slinging that ball and give your team a chance to win. And so, you don’t always have the best stats, but you see the ability. And he’s always had that ability since his first year in college when we started watching him, and there’s no reason he can’t do it.” 

Darnold, who flopped with the New York Jets early in his career, lost a quarterback competition to Baker Mayfield while with the Carolina Panthers last summer. The 25-year-old then suffered a high-ankle sprain in August that kept him off the field until late November. In total, Darnold appeared in six games during the 2022 season and completed 58.6% of 140 passes for 1,143 yards with seven touchdowns and three interceptions. 

San Francisco signed Darnold to an inexpensive one-year contract earlier this month presumably to have him as the club’s third option at the position behind 2022 rookie sensation Brock Purdy and 2021 first-round draft pick Trey Lance. 

While general manager John Lynch has referred to Purdy as “probably the leader in the clubhouse” to be the 49ers’ starting quarterback this fall, it remains unknown when the 23-year-old will be cleared to resume normal football activities as he recovers from the torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

Meanwhile, Lance is still working his way back from the season-ending ankle injury that initially sidelined him back in Week 2 of this past campaign. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network raised plenty of eyebrows in the football community when he reported this week that “Darnold will more likely than not be the starter going into” the upcoming season for San Francisco. 

Shanahan added that he has “always liked” Darnold as both a prospect and an athlete. If Darnold impresses Shanahan and company this summer, that could open the door for Lynch to consider trading Lance perhaps even before the fall deadline for such transactions.