Super Bowl LVII Updates: Latest Rumors, News and Buzz
News 2/6/23
Tracking the latest rumors from around the league as the entire NFL world converges on Glendale, Ariz., for Sunday's Super Bowl matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles.
Wednesday, Feb. 8
Purdy Could Be Back for Training Camp
Brock Purdy will undergo surgery to repair his torn UCL, putting the San Francisco 49ers' quarterback in line to return to live action in time for training camp in 2023, NFL Media reported. Purdy suffered the injury during the NFC Championship game on Jan. 29. He eventually returned to the game and played through the injury, but that was mostly out of necessity. Back-up Josh Johnson suffered an injury, and so Purdy returned but was unable to execute the 49ers' offense in full due to the injury.
Because Purdy suffered the injury so late in the season, there was growing doubt that he would be ready for training camp in 2023. Purdy is under contract with the 49ers next season, and missing camp could have put him at risk of permanently losing the starting job to QB Trey Lance, the former No. 3 overall pick.
Though it appears Purdy will be able to compete for the job in camp, given the recovery time of the surgery, Lance could nonetheless supplant Purdy. The 49ers gave up quite a bit when they moved up in the 2021 NFL Draft draft to select him and could still view him as the long-term answer at QB.
Purdy, meanwhile, did more than enough to earn himself the starting job after leading San Francisco to a 5-0 finish to the regular season. He extend his streak to 7-0 on a playoff run that included wins over the Seattle Seahawks and Dallas Cowboys before falling to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Tuesday, Feb. 7
Incentives ... Other Than To Win
A quartet of players can have financial incentives on the line Sunday, ESPN reported.
- Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster: $1 million with a victory and 50 percent playing time
- Chiefs defensive lineman Brandon Williams: $50,000 with a win and being active
- Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackles Ndamukong Suh and Linval Joseph: $125,000 (each) with a win and 30 percent playing time
Monday, Feb. 6
Joe Montana Thinks 49ers Are Picking Wrong QB
Four-time Super Bowl winner Joe Montana believes the 49ers are making the wrong choice at quarterback for the 2023 season.
San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan said last week the team didn't see any way Jimmy Garoppolo would return this offseason, but Montana thinks the 49ers should rethink their stance.
"I'd start Jimmy," Montana said to Mike Silver on Silver's Open Mike podcast. "How many games has Jimmy won? For the longest time, questions were out with Jimmy for a while. But the one thing he has been able to do is win games for those guys. He'll make a mistake here and there, but some of those things I don't just put on Jimmy."
Assuming the 49ers stay true to their word, they'll have in-house options to replace Garoppolo with Trey Lance and Brock Purdy. Lance is coming off ankle surgery following his season-ending injury in Week 2, and Purdy's status is still up in the air thanks to his UCL injury suffered in the NFC Championship Game. He has yet to decide whether he'll get Tommy John surgery to repair the ligament, which would force him to miss roughly one year.
Montana is skeptical of Lance's ability to lead San Francisco's offense this upcoming season.
"You've got to figure out the backup situation with Trey," Montana said. Does Trey know the offense well enough? Is he meant for that offense?"
Regardless of Montana's opinion, it appears like Garoppolo won't be starting in San Francisco next season.
Chiefs' Roster Moves
In roster news, the Chiefs announced they activated running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire from Injured Reserve and placed wide receiver Mecole Hardman on it, ending his season.
Hardman played through a hip injury in the AFC Championship but was on the field for only two snaps and caught only two passes. Edwards-Helaire was placed on IR in November with a high-ankle sprain. However, his role in the Chiefs' offense was already starting to decline as rookie Isiah Pacheco asserted himself.
Home Sweet Home?
The Chiefs arrived in Arizona for the Super Bowl on Sunday and are trying an interesting strategy to make the players more comfortable.
Kansas City has set up its meeting rooms in the team hotel to look like exact replicas of the ones in its team facility at home, NFL Media reported.
The Chiefs also are reportedly leaning on their Super Bowl plans from the 2019 season to help navigate the week. They've already set up their entire game plan, so they can spend the week adjusting if needed, and quarterback Patrick Mahomes has taken it upon himself to guide the team's younger players on how to manage attending events and preparing for the game.