In 2023, Brock Purdy became the 49ers’ first Pro Bowl quarterback since Jeff Garcia in 2002. It was supposed to be Trey Lance doing what Purdy did.
The 49ers finally finished paying off the deal that sent them third overall in 2021 to select Lance. It cost them the 12th overall pick in 2021, a third-round pick in 2022, a first-round pick in 2022 and a first-round pick in 2023.
They would be in trouble if not for selecting Purdy with the final pick in the 2022 draft.
Purdy won the job in 2022 following injuries to Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo, and the 49ers traded Lance to the Cowboys for a fourth-round pick last August.
“[Ownership] believes in Kyle and me, and our leadership,” Lynch said Monday, via David Bonilla of 49erswebzone.com. “When we think something will make us better, they say go ahead, and they don’t give us many restrictions there. And it’s comforting to know that we can be bold and do things like this.
“And yes, we gave up on a lot of things. We did it for reasons and motivations that we had, and it didn’t work out. But thank God for Mr. Irrelevant [Purdy]. He helped us.”
Lance started just four games in his two seasons with the 49ers due to injuries. He didn’t play last season with the Cowboys, but he will have a chance to compete with Cooper Rush for Dak Prescott’s backup job this year.
Lance is scheduled to become a free agent in 2025.
“I’m always careful about that, because Trey Lance’s story hasn’t been written yet,” Lynch said of Lance. “He’s in Dallas now, and I still think Trey has some good football in him. We’ll see. It’ll work out. But I think, also, the freedom that, when you do something, and you feel like maybe you can make us better moving forward, We’re not obligated to say, ‘Well, we recruited the guy, we just have to hang in there.’ We can do the things we want to do and I think that’s served us well.”
The 49ers were built for sustained success despite the mistake moving up to take Lance. They have two Super Bowl appearances since the 2019 season and are the favorites in the NFC this season.
They have 10 picks in this week’s draft, including three in the top 100.
“We certainly study, we say what went right and what went wrong, and we do that with all of our choices,” Lynch said. “But I think we’re in a really good place as a football team, as an organization, and we need to find a way to get a little better. And that’s been the focus of this entire off-season, and this draft is an incredible opportunity to do just that.”
