San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan is “content” going into next season with Brock Purdy and Trey Lance as the top two quarterbacks for the 49ers even after both head into the offseason rehabilitating major injuries.
Purdy could be sidelined until training camp with an elbow injury suffered in the NFC Championship game, while Lance is still recovering from a second operation on his broken right ankle but is expected to be ready for the offseason program.
But that uncertainty doesn’t mean the 49ers are looking for a veteran option to compete as the starter on one of the NFL’s most talented rosters.
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“I know we have two starters on our team right now that I believe we can win with, so when you have that situation, you’re not that eager to go looking around,” Shanahan said Wednesday.
Lance began the season as the starter but got hurt early in his second game. He has thrown only 102 passes in two seasons in the NFL after San Francisco traded three first-round picks to draft him third overall in 2021.
Purdy came in with much less fanfare as the last pick in the 2022 draft but shined late in the season after Lance’s replacement, Jimmy Garoppolo, went down with a broken foot.
Purdy won his first seven starts before the 49ers lost, 31-7, to Philadelphia in the NFC Championship game. Purdy hurt his elbow on the opening drive and returned to play the second half in an emergency even though he couldn’t throw the ball more than a few yards because of a torn ligament in his right elbow.
Purdy is still seeking additional opinions on his treatment options, but the most likely scenario is a repair to the elbow that would allow him to be back before the start of next season.
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Shanahan said he wasn’t focused at this point on who would go into training camp as the starter and wasn’t worried about another offseason of questions at quarterback after dealing with those the past few years.
One quarterback not in San Francisco’s plans is Garoppolo, who started 55 games over the past six seasons for the 49ers. Garoppolo returned this season as a surprise on a reduced contract when offseason shoulder surgery hurt his trade market.
When asked about a possible Garoppolo return for 2023, Shanahan said: “I don’t see any scenario of that.”
McCarthy to call plays
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy is set to call plays next season after the team parted ways with offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.
Owner/general manager Jerry Jones told reporters at the Senior Bowl that McCarthy will run a version of the West Coast offense he used when calling plays as head coach in Green Bay from 2006-18.
Executive vice president of personnel Stephen Jones hinted at philosophical differences between McCarthy and Moore, who kept the play-calling role for three seasons after McCarthy was hired.
The Chargers hired Moore as offensive coordinator Monday, a day after the Cowboys announced Moore’s departure.
The Cowboys haven’t had the head coach calling plays since Jason Garrett gave up that role after the 2012 season. Moore’s debut as offensive coordinator came in 2019, Garrett’s final year in Dallas.
McCarthy said he wanted to keep Moore as the play-caller because he thought it was the best thing for quarterback Dak Prescott.
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“This is the logical step to build on it and use what we’ve established, if you will, the foundation of the things we’ve got,” Jerry Jones told reporters in Mobile, Ala. “This is the time for us to build on it. That’s what this is, a building step.”
With McCarthy set to call plays, Dallas is still planning to hire an offensive coordinator.
Sills indicted on rape charges
Josh Sills, a reserve offensive lineman for the NFC champion Eagles, has been indicted on rape and kidnapping charges that stem from an incident in Ohio a little more than three years ago.
Sills, an undrafted free agent who appeared in just one game this season, was placed on the commissioner’s exempt list. That means he can’t practice, play or travel with the team as it prepares for the Super Bowl.
The NFL said the issue is being reviewed under the league’s personal conduct policy.
The rookie, who played at West Virginia and Oklahoma State, was indicted Tuesday by a Guernsey County grand jury in Ohio and ordered to appear in court on Feb. 16, four days after the Eagles are to play the Chiefs in the Super Bowl.
The indictment accuses Sills, who is from Sarahsville, Ohio, of engaging in sexual activity that was not consensual and holding a woman against her will on Dec. 5, 2019.
Beathard dead
Four-time Super Bowl-winning executive Bobby Beathard has died. He was 86. A spokesperson for the Commanders said Beathard’s family told the team he died Monday at his home in Franklin, Tenn. Beathard was director of player personnel for two of the NFL championships by Miami in the 1970s and served as general manager for two more by Washington in the ‘80s. Part of seven teams that made the Super Bowl during his lengthy front office career, Beathard was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018 … University of Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule has filed an arbitration suit with the NFL against the Panthers seeking about $5 million in offset severance compensation. Rhule was fired as Panthers head coach on Oct. 10, less than three years into a seven-year, $62 million contract. He was 11-27 as coach with the Panthers. He was owed approximately $34 million at the time he was fired by billionaire David Tepper, the NFL’s second-wealthiest owner. Rhule returned to college coaching in November when he was hired by Nebraska, receiving a reported eight-year, $72 million contract that seemingly offset what the Panthers owed him. But the arbitration suit alleges the Panthers still owe him about $5 million because of how the contract with Carolina was structured.
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