The Steelers' Week 1 Opponent 49ers Received Incredible Injury News About Their Offensive Leader

The Pittsburgh Steelers will report to training camp Wednesday with the first practice occurring on Thursday, July 27th. There is a general optimism in the air after a solid offseason spearheaded by General Manager, Omar Khan and Head Coach, Mike Tomlin. The team emphasized all areas of need on both sides of the ball and is looking to surprise people during the 2023 season. The AFC North is going to be one of, if not, the most competitive division in the NFL, but before taking on the Cleveland Browns in Week 2, a dominant force in the San Francisco 49ers will come to Pittsburgh.

The preparation for playing San Francisco will begin immediately, despite having three preseason games to take care of first. One of the bigger questions throughout the offseason was if 49ers quarterback and 2022 'Mr. Irrelevant,' Brock Purdy, would be ready for the season opener after tearing his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) back in January of 2023 during the NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Purdy was the last overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft while Steelers signal-caller, Kenny Pickett was the only quarterback selected within the first two rounds after Pittsburgh drafted him 20th overall. He had a decent rookie season, especially towards the end after leading two game-winning drives, but his stats were nothing to get too excited about.

Purdy, on the other hand, was thrown into an offensive juggernaut in San Francisco after the top two quarterbacks, Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo both suffered serious injuries. A somewhat complicated offense was then put in the hands of Purdy, who was more than exceptional and up to the task. He started five games, winning all of them. Pickett finished with an above. 500 mark at 7-5.

While Pittsburgh may have expected to get Lance in Week 1, it appears as if Purdy has recovered quickly from his UCL surgery and will be good to go for all training camp activities. It was reported on Tuesday that he is cleared and should enter training camp as the top quarterback on the roster after a rather impressive rookie campaign.

The 49ers are likely to ease Purdy back into the swing of things, but there's no reason to believe, barring a setback, that he won't be able to start against the Steelers in early September. While he has some starting experience under his belt, he didn't have an offseason to train and workout with his offensive teammates due to his surgery, so it's possible that even with a full training camp, things might start out a little bit slow for San Francisco's offense.

Steelers Have Slight Quarterback Advantage Given Pickett's Offseason Health

As for the Steelers, Pickett has had his first full offseason to undoubtedly be the guy. He has consistently been working out with his teammates and if Offensive Coordinator, Matt Canada has a different approach in 2023, it's very possible that Pittsburgh's offense has a different tone to it going forward. That's a big 'if' though since everyone knows exactly how Canada likes to call games on a weekly basis.

For the Steelers, it doesn't matter as much for who is at quarterback in Week 1. The 49ers should absolutely prefer Purdy, but at the end of the day, Kyle Shanahan's offense is wizardry and there are weapons all over the place. The Pittsburgh defense is going to have their hands full at Acrisure Stadium when San Francisco comes to town.

Would you prefer Lance be at quarterback instead of Purdy in Week 1? Let us know in the comments below!

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