NFC Notes: Brock Purdy, Trey Lance, Sam Darnold, 49ers, Cardinals, Rams

49ers

The 49ers have been open that the only question they had about QB Brock Purdy was how healthy his elbow would be. With that cleared up — Purdy was cleared for training camp and has been ramping up his participation — it’s crystal clear that Purdy will be the team’s starter this upcoming season. And given how well he played when given his opportunity last year, 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan isn’t ruling out Purdy being the man for San Francisco for a lot longer. 

“That’s a big statement, especially when you say a decade,” Shanahan said via Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. “The games Brock played in, he played at as high a level as you could ask for, as consistent a level as you can ask for. Hell yeah, you can win with that and be very happy with that. That was [seven full] games, there’s a lot that goes into it, and we’ll see how it goes. I mean, we played good enough in those games to say we’re going with him this year. And to go with a guy for one year means you better believe that stuff.”

Shanahan explained why the team signed QB Sam Darnold to go with former first-round QB Trey Lance already on the roster when they had so much confidence in Purdy. 

“He’s been [the starter] since last year ended,” Shanahan said. “He was always clearly our starter, but there were so many questions about his injury, how he’d come back from it, that we didn’t even know if he’d be ready for this year, so we had to prepare for everything else. I mean, Trey was the guy we gave the keys to last year, so we were definitely excited to have him in a situation [to play], and we also didn’t know if Brock would be back, so we needed someone to come in and at least compete with Trey, and give us a chance, because Trey was hurt last year, and just got cleared before OTAs.

Cardinals

Cardinals OC Drew Petzing called plays from the sideline in the first preseason game and will move to the booth in Arizona’s second game as he figures out what will work best this season. 

“I think it’s important to try both and make sure that I’m making an educated decision bout what’s best for the team and best for the offense,” he said via the team website.

Rams

The Rams will be counting a lot on third-round OLB Byron Young as a rookie, throwing him in as a starter right away due to how thin they are overall on the defensive side of the ball. That makes the preseason and training camp extra important for Young. One of the big adjustments early on has been conditioning. 

“When he was fresh and healthy and ready to go, he looked awesome [in the preseason opener],” Rams DC Raheem Morris said via the Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue. “When he was tired, he looked tired.”

That gave Young a clear point of emphasis to improve on going into joint practices this week with the Raiders. 

“I felt great,” Young said after practice. “Felt like I had some good rushes and (was) getting off the ball well. … The preseason game, that conditioning, I liked the way they did that. I need to prepare my body for the regular season. The way they do that conditioning, I loved it. Next game I hope they do the same thing.”

Young has also been making it a point to diversify his pass-rushing moves, something that likely will be a process over the course of his rookie season. 

“In OTAs, I was kind of using the same moves,” Young said. “My coach (Joe Coniglio) challenged me over the break we had for a month. He said, ‘Byron, I want to challenge you to bring some more moves to the table. Don’t keep doing the same thing; change it up a little bit.’ … So since we’ve started camp, I’ve just tried new moves.”