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• Shanahan unsure when Purdy will be ready to play in 2023

  Kyle Shanahan remains unsure when Brock Purdy will return despite San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch expressing optimism the quarterback could be ready for training camp.

  Purdy emerged as one of the stories of the 2022 season, the final pick of last year's draft stepping in after both Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo suffered season-ending injury and winning five successive starts to help the Niners to a 13-4 record and the NFC's second seed. 

  He then won two playoff games before suffering a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow on the first offensive series of San Francisco's NFC Championship Game defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles.

  Purdy underwent successful surgery to repair the injury on March 10, with his projected timeline one that would see him resume throwing in three months.

  On Monday, Lynch said he was hopeful Purdy would be back for training camp and described him as the "leader in the clubhouse" in a prospective quarterback competition with 2021 third overall pick Lance.

  Head coach Shanahan painted a more uncertain picture, but appeared relaxed about the Niners' quarterback situation.

  "He won't be able to do anything on the field, for who knows? It could go anywhere from six months to eight months," Shanahan said.

  "So, it's all open like that, and we'll have a better idea … at three months out of surgery, they have a better idea of whether it's going to be six months or eight months. … That's all I know, and I'm pretty good with that.

  "We'll see at three months if he'll be ready for camp, or if not, then perhaps we say it's gonna go slow. It might be Week 1 and, at the latest, Week 4. It's just all estimations, and we'll see what happens."

  Lance, who has started just four games since the 49ers traded three first-round picks to move up and to select him owing in part to the ankle injury he suffered last September, is set to split first-team reps in OTAs and minicamp with another former third overall selection, Sam Darnold. The 49ers signed Darnold to a one-year contract this month.

  "With Brock being hurt, it does open [the job] up, and it does give [Lance] a chance," Shanahan added.

  "I don't know how Brock's going to come back. I don't know exactly when he's going to come back, so I don't have the exact answer for that.

  "But right now, because he is hurt, it is nice to focus on Trey, it is nice to focus on Sam, and see how they do in OTAs and most likely see how they're playing leading us into training camp because I think it will take some time for Brock."

• LaFleur calls for Packers patience as Love aims to replace 'generational talent' Rodgers

  The Green Bay Packers are prepared to be patient as Jordan Love attempts to replace "generational talent" Aaron Rodgers.

  That was the message from Packers coach Matt LaFleur on Tuesday as Rodgers seems set to join the New York Jets.

  The veteran quarterback's trade still needs finalisation from Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst, but LaFleur has already started to envisage life without Rodgers.

  Love, a first-round pick in 2020, has waited three years for his chance and LaFleur acknowledged it will take time for the 24-year-old to develop.

  "[Rodgers' impending trade] is what it is, and at the same time, we're excited about Jordan and how he's been able to progress as a quarterback, how he's matured as a man," LaFleur at the NFL's Annual League Meeting in Phoenix. "It's going to be a different role for him, certainly, and I think we all have to kind of temper our expectations for him.

  "It's different when you're going into a game versus when you're starting a game. It's going to be a process, but it's going to be exciting for him, for us.

  "I don't think any quarterback can truly do it on their own in this league. So it's going to be everybody rallying around him and trying to be at the best of their ability so that he can go out there and perform as good as he possibly can."

  Love has just one career start to his name, for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2021, along with two appearances as a replacement.

  Despite calling for the Packers to be patient with Love, LaFleur sees progress in the young quarterback who has had to wait in the wings behind superstar Rodgers.

  "He's come a long way, quite frankly," LaFleur added. "I know there were some times where early on, it's just, you don't know. I still think you have to go out there and you have got to do it consistently.

  "It's one thing to do it in practice. It's another thing to take it to the game field and do it but certainly have seen his performance in practice, his mechanics, his decisions, his timing within the pass game and just his accuracy. I think he's come a long way."

  As for Rodgers' impending trade to the Jets, LaFleur will leave that in the hands of Gutekunst and New York's general manager Joe Douglas as he prepares to work with whatever roster the Packers provide.

  "That's all between Joe and Gutey," he continued. "I'm going to leave that one to them. We'll coach whoever's on our roster.

  "We'll coach them to the best of our ability and we are always going to put the best players out there that are going to give us an opportunity to win football games."

• Colts considering move for former MVP Lamar Jackson

  After years of patchwork quarterback play, the Indianapolis Colts are considering acquiring Lamar Jackson to solve their woes under center.

  Just hours after Jackson announced that he had asked the Baltimore Ravens to trade him, the Colts became the first franchise to declare their intentions to look into acquiring the former league MVP.

  "Anytime a special player is available, which [Jackson] is, you've got to do the work," Colts general manager Chris Ballard said Monday at the NFL's annual league meeting in Phoenix.

  "I'm not going to get into deep discussions on where it's at or what we're doing or what we might do," Ballard said. "But what I'll tell you is he's a really good player, really special player. But you never know how any of this will work out.

  "I think anytime at that position we have a chance to acquire a guy, you've got to do your work on it to see if it's doable," Ballard said. "Sometimes it is, sometimes it's not.

  "If you don't feel like you have one that can absolutely change the franchise in terms of leading you every year, I think you're always going to feel some pressure to get that player right."

  Since Andrew Luck’s surprising retirement in 2019, the Colts have shuffled through a list of stop-gap options at quarterback, including Philip Rivers, Carson Wentz and Matt Ryan.

  Jackson confirmed suspicions that his relationship with the Ravens has been fractured Monday when he announced in a statement on Twitter that he had requested a trade on March 2.

  On March 7, Baltimore placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on the two-time Pro Bowl quarterback, meaning that other teams could sign Jackson to an offer sheet in exchange for two first-round draft picks.

  Teams could offer more than two first-rounders to the Ravens as a part of any potential blockbuster trade.

  Ballard said his team will do their "due diligence" to bring an answer at quarterback to the Colts – who own the fourth overall selection in next month’s draft – and had previously said the team would consider trading up for the right quarterback.

  On Monday, Ballard made the case for drafting a quarterback outside the first round.

  "What I would tell you is that there's good players in this draft at every level," Ballard said. "Everybody just talks about the top four [quarterbacks], but there's some more guys out there that are pretty good players.

  "And I think history's shown – especially in the last few years with [Philadelphia Eagles quarterback] Jalen [Hurts] being one and [San Francisco 49ers’] Brock Purdy coming in and playing really well – they come at every level. So, we'll do our work on every one of them."