The San Francisco 49ers faced a unique kind of adversity at the quarterback position in 2022. All four of San Francisco's signal callers suffered significant injuries on the way to the NFC Championship Game. Sophomore quarterback Trey Lance suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the 49ers home opener versus the Seattle Seahawks, veteran Jimmy Garoppolo fractured his foot in Week 13 against the Miami Dolphins, rookie Brock Purdy sustained an elbow injury that prevented his ability to throw long distances in the conference championship and backup Josh Johnson was also sidelined with a concussion in the showdown with the Philadelphia Eagles. All four are heading into the offseason with vastly different timelines for recovery and varying contract situations for the 2023 season.
Garoppolo and Johnson are unrestricted free agents while Purdy and Lance are still on rookie deals. Lance, who recently underwent a follow-up procedure for his ankle, detailed what his immediate offseason plans will entail.
"I'm going to be here, at least until I get cleared, and then, I'll figure it out after that," Lance said. "Definitely for these next four weeks, I just want to make sure I'm getting to 100 percent, exactly to where they want me and to where I feel more like myself."
Purdy, who is still undergoing further evaluations on his elbow issue, has less clarity as to next steps for the injury but has his sights set on finding the right option for a speedy recovery.
"For me to claim or say anything in terms of what is going to happen moving forward, that's out of my control," Purdy said. "I'm going to do what I can to get back healthy and be ready to compete come fall and just be ready for whatever coach (Kyle Shanahan) asks of me."
Over the course of the season, the 49ers two young quarterbacks have developed a friendship, and Lance, who spent the majority of the season working back from his ankle injury, got to watch Purdy come into his own in relief of Garoppolo.
The rookie quarterback completed 114-of-170 passes for 1,374 yards and 13 touchdowns in the regular season and connected on another 41-of-63 passes for 569 yards for three touchdowns in the playoffs.
"Brock plays the game the right way. That's why he had so much success," Lance said. "I was just super excited for him. He worked his butt off all OTAs, since the first day he got here, since the first day he got drafted. He deserved everything he got this year and more... Just tried to help him as much as I could, learned a lot from him as well from a human being standpoint. He's a great person, someone that I see a lot of myself in, so it's great for me to be able to have a quarterback room like we did throughout the year."
Purdy echoed the sentiment and extended to compliment to the rest of the 49ers locker room who were vocal about their support for the rookie following the loss in the NFC Championship Game.
"I love these guys. I appreciate them," Purdy said. "They've been through this year after year and for them to have respect for what I've done, the way I've handled my stuff, I appreciate that about them. I've learned so much from them. George Kittle has taken me in, Fred Warner and Arik Armstead, those guys have shown me what it looks like to be a pro... It doesn't get any better than this locker room right here."
