The Trey Lance Era in San Francisco has begun. San Francisco’s head coach, Kyle Shanahan, has recently come out and told reporters that the team has moved on from Jimmy Garoppolo and has handed the starting QB position over to the 2021 1st-round pick.
This was only a matter of time, though I’m sure all 49er fans are glad the Garoppolo-Lance starting QB saga is finally over. Much of the last two years have been dominated by Garoppolo vs. Lance headlines, which definitely could not have helped the team’s (offense, more specifically) chemistry last season.
Well, I say that and yet the 49ers still made it to the NFC Championship game and only lost by 3 points. So, clearly the 49ers players, coaches, and executives were much calmer about the QB controversy than the rest of us.
Anyway, the San Francisco 49ers have just placed all of their Super Bowl aspiration eggs in the Trey Lance basket as now the second year QB will face the overwhelming pressure of delivering a 6th Super Bowl to the Bay Area. Could this be a task that may be too great for Lance at this stage of his career?
If some reports are to be believed about Lance’s play at training camp, he’s still a little raw at the NFL level. Kyle Shannahan and GM John Lynch are taking a big risk by pushing aside the quarterback that has taken the 49ers to two NFC title games and one Super Bowl appearance in the last four seasons.
It would have been easy to keep Lance on the bench for another season and pray Jimmy Garoppolo can stay healthy enough for one more Super Bowl run.
Yet, that would have been the cowardly decision. Trey Lance needs these “sub-par” training camp moments to become more prepared against NFL defenses. In my opinion, starting Jimmy Garoppolo over Trey Lance for a second-straight season would have hurt Lance’s development, not helped it.
Garoppolo isn’t an aging, Hall-of-Famer like Brett Favre when he was staring over the precocious Aaron Rodgers, or the seasoned veteran Alex Smith staring over the raw talented Patrick Mahomes a few seasons ago.
Garoppolo is an injury-prone, back-up caliber quarterback that was clogging the first team reps that Trey Lance needed if he is ever going to be a superstar in the NFL. Removing Garoppolo from the staring QB picture is the best move the 49ers could have made this offseason. And I’m glad they have finally done it.
Sure, 49ers fans can be nervous that Trey Lance’s “mediocre” performances at training camp is a troubling sign as to how he will play against opposing defenses in a few weeks. I understand their concern and it is a valid one.
But they should also remember that the 49ers’ starting defense is one of the Top-5 (if not Top-3) defenses in the NFL. Even Aaron Rodgers couldn’t score a touchdown in the playoffs on them last season.
Trey Lance will not be facing too many defenses of that caliber in the NFL. And, the more practice he has against such good opponents, the better he will become.
Change is always a scary thing, and it is okay for 49ers fans to be nervous about the prospects of Trey Lance leading San Frans’ offense next season. Still, I believe that as the weeks and games in the 2022/23 NFL season go on, their fears will subside as Trey Lance proves he can be a staring QB this early in his career.
Images Sources: Featured Image:
Other Sources: (Chase Senior Twitter) (Chase Senior on Twitter: “Trey Lance didn’t have the greatest day of practice. Completed 50 percent of his throws, threw a pick and was under pressure. Keep in mind he didn’t have Deebo and this is the first team OL currently #49ers https://t.co/9i7Bcf9fTZ” / Twitter)
