There was a notable shift in the quarterback reps for the 49ers first joint practice with the Raiders in Las Vegas on Thursday.
Brock Purdy took all the first-team reps as usual, but Trey Lance got a lion’s share of the second-team reps. He took 19 snaps according to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco. Lance completed 6-of-12 throws.
Sam Darnold, who’s competing with Lance for the backup job, had just nine reps and completed one-of-three passes. There were no 11-on-11 snaps for Brandon Allen who appears to be firmly in the QB4 slot at this point.
The division of reps in each practice has tended to be more even that that between Lance and Darnold.
It could be that the 49ers plan on starting Lance for the preseason opener and just want him to get a handful of additional reps in practice leading up to the game.
There’s also a real chance the reps are divided the opposite way for Friday’s practice where it’s Darnold receiving a bulk of the second-team reps with Lance pulling up the rear. It may be easier to “split” the reps that way in a joint practice.
A less likely scenario is that Lance has simply pulled ahead of Darnold, but it’s hard to fathom the 49ers coaching staff made that decision without both joint practices and at least one preseason game to go off of.
How the 49ers divide the reps between Lance and Darnold will always tell the story of how the battle is going, so Friday’s practice will be particularly interesting when it comes to how those snaps are dished out.
