In 2021, as questions swirled about which quarterback the 49ers would take in the draft, Kyle Shanahan made one of his most famous statement.

"I can't guarantee that anybody in the world will be alive on Sunday, so I can't guarantee who will be on our roster on Sunday," he said when asked if he could guarantee if Jimmy Garoppolo would be on the roster after the draft.

However, after another offseason dominated by uncertainty at the quarterback position, Shanahan has changed his tune, offering a guarantee that Brock Purdy was always going to be the starter in Week 1, and doing so with another amusing turn of phrase.

Speaking to Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, Shanahan said of Purdy and the starting job: "He would have to melt in practice to lose it. And Brock’s too good of a player to melt in practice—and so are the other guys."

Shanahan said it took "about three games" of Purdy's incredible run after he replaced the injured Jimmy Garoppolo for him to be convinced the final pick in last year's draft was the best option under center. Having won in relief of Garoppolo in Week 13, Purdy then won seven consecutive full starts across the regular season and playoffs before tearing an elbow ligament against the Eagles in the NFC Championship Game, throwing his prospects of starting in 2023 into doubt.

But those doubts have been removed, with Purdy this week cleared to practice three days in a row without a day off, and Shanahan poured cold water on the notion there was ever a possibility of a competition for the starting role.

"He’s been [the starter] since last year ended. He was always clearly our starter, but there were so many questions about his injury, how he’d come back from it, that we didn’t even know if he’d be ready for this year, so we had to prepare for everything else. I mean, Trey was the guy we gave the keys to last year, so we were definitely excited to have him in a situation [to play], and we also didn’t know if Brock would be back, so we needed someone to come in and at least compete with Trey, and give us a chance, because Trey was hurt last year, and just got cleared before OTAs."

The injury situation prompted the 49ers to sign Sam Darnold as additional insurance at the game's most important position.

Darnold outperformed Trey Lance in the Niners' preseason opener on Sunday, a game Purdy watched from the comfort of the sideline, long since safe in the knowledge the top job is his.

"That’s [the injuries] why we brought Sam [Darnold] in here. And those guys have been competing their butts off, and I feel great playing with those guys. But like I told them, like I’ve said to media, like I said to everyone since Day 1, based on what Brock did on tape last year, it’s hard to beat that out in practice.”

Shanahan couldn't offer any guarantees for Garoppolo over two years ago, but he did not hesitate in making such promises about Purdy. Now his quarterback must vindicate his coach's ardent faith in him by delivering over the course of a full campaign.

Ji’Ayir Brown provides an exciting glimpse of his promise in preseason debut

It was an encouraging performance.

Featured Image Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports