Even a Brock Birdie In between, Sunday’s NFC Championship game stinks San Francisco 49ers And the Philadelphia Eagles won’t have enough to spend next year’s starting quarterback job, says former NFL player and current ESPN pundit Ryan Clark.
On Friday’s episode of “First Take,” Clarke was clear on two things. First, Birdie received early recognition after going undefeated through the NFL title game (and beyond!). “That’s zero question,” Clark said. “… No matter what happens on Sunday, for the next year, Brock Birdie will be the undisputed quarterback.”
Clark noted that Purdy has clearly outplayed Jimmy Garoppolo; He’s been more consistent, and he’s shown more ability outside of the pocket. Then Clark made his second bold announcement: Trey Lance’s time had already come and gone in the Bay Area.
“Whether it’s Kyle Shanahan’s decision or John Lynch’s decision, they have to finally say, ‘We made a mistake with Trae Lance. If we’re going to go talent-wise, if we’re going to go for a guy with the greatest athletic ability, we should have picked Justin Fields, and we made a mistake.’ Understood,” Clark said. “But, as life wills, fate and destiny will decide, Mr. Irrelevant, [they] Brock chose Birdie. Right now, he doesn’t even know how to lose in the NFL.”
Even a few weeks ago, such an announcement would have been considered strange. Not so anymore. Lance, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and still only 22 years old, is set to usurp Birdie next season, with pick No. 262 in 2022. Which means Clark is right, as strange as it may sound: Lance’s future in San Francisco is definitely up in the air.
Sunday’s NFC title bout begins at noon on Fox.
