George Kittle: 49ers QB Battle Is Brock Purdy’s to Lose

San Francisco’s star tight end told Sports Illustrated that the starting QB job is Purdy’s to lose.

49ers star tight end George Kittle has made a definitive stance on the QB battle between Brock Purdy and Trey Lance.

Kittle believes the job is Purdy’s to lose, he told Sports Illustrated‘s Robin Lundberg on Tuesday.

“Trey Lance. Starter or backup?” Lundberg asked.

“Who is he competing against?” Kittle asked with a smile on his face.

When Lundberg asked more directly whether Lance is a starter for the 49ers, Kittle went into more detail.

“Trey is a starter in the NFL,” Kittle began. “He will be. Get that guy some reps and he has an incredibly high ceiling. But in regards to that, Brock Purdy won eight straight games and got hurt. So I think it’s just Brock’s job to lose at that point. But yeah I think Trey’s definitely a starting quarterback. He just needs reps, that’s all it is.”

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The quarterback battle between Purdy, the last pick in the 2022 NFL draft, and Lance, the No. 3 pick in the 2021 draft, is expected to last well into training camp once Purdy recovers from offseason surgery on an elbow injury he suffered in the NFC Championship.

Lance, who was drafted to be the team’s franchise quarterback two seasons ago, injured his leg last September, and was replaced by former starter Jimmy Garoppolo. When Garoppolo got hurt in early December, Purdy took over and played outstanding football to guide the 49ers to the cusp of a Super Bowl berth.

Now Purdy has inserted himself squarely in the discussion of taking over as San Francisco’s franchise quarterback, which is something that was unfathomable when he was selected with the very last pick in 2022.