San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy has maintained the inside track for the 49ers' starting quarterback job despite missing offseason workouts due to his elbow injury, ESPN's Jeff Darlington said, according to Joseph Zucker of Bleacher Report.

“So, we have a situation where Trey Lance has gotten a lot of first-team reps but so too has Sam Darnold at times,” Darlington said on SportsCenter, according to Zucker. “I haven't gotten the sense talking to anybody in San Francisco that either Darnold or Lance has done enough necessarily to hold off Purdy when he does come back.”

Trey Lance and Sam Darnold have both had opportunities to impress and claim the role for the 49ers, but it seems neither have done so. They do still have the advantage of being ahead of the game while Brock Purdy is missing practice time.

Despite that report, the 49ers coaching staff and some players believe that Lance has made improvements this offseason.

“What stands out is his footwork,” 49ers passing game specialist Klint Kubiak said of Lance's mechanics, via David Lombardi and Matt Barrows of The Athletic. “And I think that's stuff that (quarterbacks coach) Brian (Griese) and (assistant quarterbacks coach) Klay (Kubiak) definitely have worked on. He just seems really comfortable with what you're asking him to do. I love how his feet have progressed at this point of his career.”

Tight end George Kittle said that he believes Lance looks significantly better than last year, according to Lombardi and Barrows. It will be interesting to see who takes the role when week 1 of the NFL season comes around.