When Kyle Shanahan knew Brock Purdy was best QB on 49ers

San Francisco 49ers CEO Jed York spoke with reporters on Thursday and revealed that head coach Kyle Shanahan suspected during training camp sessions in the summer of 2022 that Brock Purdy was the club's best quarterback over 2021 first-round draft pick Trey Lance and veteran Jimmy Garoppolo. 

"'I think our third-string quarterback is our best quarterback,'" York shared about what he heard from Shanahan ahead of the 2022 season, per David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone. "I'm like, 'Okay, what does that mean?' He's like, 'Well, obviously, we've invested in Trey. Trey is doing a good job. We're going to do everything that we can. We're not going to change that, and we're not going to change the depth chart, but I think Brock will end up being our quarterback at some point.'"

Purdy entered the NFL as the final pick of the 2022 draft and began his rookie season as San Francisco's third-choice option. He unexpectedly rose to the top of the depth chart in early December 2022 when both Lance and Garoppolo were sidelined with season-ending injuries, and it took Purdy fewer than three full games to cause Shanahan to re-think the club's long-term plans. 

"You had two injuries, and that's how Brock ended up playing," York added. "But (Shanahan is) always honest. 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. That's generally not great news, but he's honest, and he let it play out the right way."

Interestingly, Shanahan apparently wanted to temporarily make Tom Brady his QB1 when Purdy was recovering last offseason from a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow suffered in January 2023. York insisted Thursday that he and Shanahan "had a calm about us" with Purdy serving as San Francisco's starter, and the second-year pro is now a win away from delivering the franchise its first Super Bowl title since January 1995.