Kyle Shanahan Says He Doesn't Know Who the Starting Quarterback Will Be Next Season

Probably not what Trey Lance wants to hear.

Admit it. You want to stay in the moment and appreciate this season, because it's one of the most intriguing in 49ers history. But at the same time, you can't help but think ahead to next season and wonder who the starting quarterback will be.

Will the starter be Brock Purdy or Trey Lance? At the beginning of this year, the starter was Lance, but then he got hurt, and players aren't supposed to lose their starting jobs due to injury. Purdy has played so incredibly well -- better than any rookie ever. Will he take the starting job if he keeps playing well in the playoffs, or has he taken it already?

"I don't even know what year it is after this season is over," Kyle Shanahan said Monday on a conference call, dodging the question. "I'm trying to think about how to get them ready for Wednesday, man. So that's a great question. Honestly, I don't look ahead like that. We've got a number of big games in front of us."

This answer indicates that the starting job for next season is wide open and the 49ers won't simply give it back to Lance by default. This might seem obvious by now, but it's a big deal, because it shows how well Purdy has played. He's giving the 49ers everything they hoped Lance would give them. So if Purdy continues to play this well and if he wins a few playoff games as a rookie, why would the 49ers bench him? How could they even justify it?

It's possible the 49ers will have a true quarterback competition this offseason, which would be phenomenal. That seems like a fair outcome. But if Purdy wins the Super Bowl, the competition might be over before it starts.