Steve Young shares concerns about 49ers' quarterback situation

San Francisco 49ers legend and Hall of Famer Steve Young sounds unconvinced the current version of the team has a quarterback capable of winning a Super Bowl shootout, if necessary. 

"Do we have a quarterback that can match those four or five guys that can go light it up with their arms and go get those yards with their legs in a big, huge moment?" Young asked during the latest edition of the "49ers Talk with Matt Maiocco" podcast, as shared by David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone. 

Lindsey Pallares of the 49ers' website noted on Wednesday how head coach Kyle Shanahan has declined to name a starting quarterback for understandable reasons. Brock Purdy, the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, emerged as a rookie sensation who won his first seven starts (playoffs included) before he suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow during the NFC Championship Game. Purdy appears on track to start in Week 1 this coming September but won't be cleared to fully practice until some point in August, at the earliest. 

Shanahan and company clearly are high on free-agency signing Sam Darnold, but Darnold failed to cement himself as a franchise quarterback during stints with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers. 2021 first-round draft pick Trey Lance has thus far made just four career NFL regular-season starts, is coming off a serious ankle injury he suffered last September and seems likely to be shopped by the 49ers as soon as next month unless he flops in preseason action. 

In short, San Francisco has more questions than answers at the sport's most important position ahead of training camp. 

"I don't think that, but it's going to have to play itself out," Young continued about the 49ers not having one of the league's elite quarterbacks. "But right now, the facts on the ground are if you don't have one, you can't get there because you can't win the championship game and the Super Bowl against those guys. It's not going to happen."

The 49ers' window to land Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins in a trade presumably closed before this year's draft, so San Francisco will have to move forward with the healthy options on the roster until further notice. Shanahan's club may have been even a solid signal-caller away from playing against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII, and it remains unknown this summer if the 49ers' offense is in a better place today than it was when Purdy was first called into duty as a QB1 this past December.