29 May 2023 , 21:25
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San Francisco 49ers offensive playmakers Christian McCaffery and Deebo Samuel are seemingly both in agreement on the team's quarterback situation.
NFL legend John Madden once said that "if you have two quarterbacks then you have none", meaning that a team must know its starting quarterback heading into the new season to build their team around. But those sentiments are unlikely agreed with inside the Niners camp, as they enter pre-season with three talented contenders for the top job.
All being well, Brock Purdy will likely be the starter after his incredible rookie season, but he suffered an elbow injury which required surgery this off-season. Should Purdy be ready and available for the beginning of the season, it does appear that he'll be given the job after head coach Kyle Shanahan suggested that he deserves the opportunity to be in the starting role.
But that situation is not clear cut. This time last year, the team were ready to focus on Trey Lance as their future quarterback, whilst they've also added another former first round draft pick, Sam Darnold, in the off-season. Having three players of their calibre is sure to lead to plenty of debate about who is the best option - but both McCaffery and Samuel have insisted whoever is picked will not impact their roles and they are confident in all three options.
McCaffrey told Rich Eisen on the Rich Eisen Show: "For me, no matter who the quarterback is, I have to get open. I'm not thinking about the quarterback. I'm thinking about getting open, hitting the right holes, doing my job. Otherwise, it doesn't matter.
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Trey Lance and Brock Purdy will both battle alongside Sam Darnold for the QB1 spot (Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images)"And I think everybody has that mentality. It's do your job, do it at the highest level. I'm not a quarterback evaluator. People ask me all the time, how's the quarterback? I have no idea. I don't know mechanics. I have no idea how to evaluate quarterbacks. But what I do know is all three of them are amazing. All three of them are great options.
"I talk about Brock and what he did last year, and not just how he played, but the way he carried himself. He's built to be a quarterback in this league.
"I didn't get to play with Trey last year, but from what I've seen so far, Trey has been great. He's been awesome. And obviously, I've played with Sam, and I know what Sam can do, and seeing all the things that he's been doing this OTAs, too. I think, for us, it's nice knowing that we have three great options.
"And like I said, I don't know who the quarterback is going to be. And frankly, my job is just to be as ready to go as I can for whoever it is. But I just know that we're in good hands no matter what. And I pray to God I don't have to play quarterback again."
Whichever quarterback gets the best out of Deebo Samuel and Christian McCaffery will ultimately start (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)Samuel, meanwhile, feels equally confident in three quarterbacks - who could all get an opportunity at some point in the season if it goes the same way as last season, when the team lost three starters to injury.Samuel told Complex earlier this month: “I mean the people upstairs from John Lynch and company. Brock (Purdy) is still recovering from his surgery.
“Trey (Lance) is fully healthy. We went and got another quarterback in Sam Darnold. That was the only piece we were missing. If we had another quarterback, we would’ve been alright. In that situation, what could you do? The front office is doing a good job of making sure we’ll be alright."