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Fans of the San Francisco 49ers have been thrilled with what they’ve seen so far with second-year quarterback Trey Lance during training camp and his performance during the team’s preseason win over the Green Bay Packers on August 12.
But not everyone is impressed
NFL legend and Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre recently shared his opinion on who he believes should be starting for San Francisco when the season opens up – Jimmy Garoppolo.
‘He’s Not as Flashy’
During an interview on The 33rd Team on Monday, August 22, the former Super Bowl champion voiced his thoughts on why he believes Garoppolo should stay on with the Niners.
“Cutting him or letting him go or asking him to take a pay cut is, to me, absolutely crazy,” Favre said.
The former New England Patriots quarterback injured his shoulder during San Francisco’s NFC Divisional Round win over the Dallas Cowboys, which required surgery and rehab during the offseason. In July, the 49ers officially gave Garoppolo’s agents to seek a trade.
Lance, who was picked with the third overall selection in the 2021 NFL draft, has been impressing during training camp and preseason by showing flashes of what the offense with him leading can possibly be.
But Favre thinks the 49ers are making a mistake.
“My personal opinion, I would go with Garoppolo,” Favre said. “He’s not as flashy — not near as flashy. He wasn’t their first-round pick, and no offense towards Trey Lance, but what Jimmy has done is win. And win, win, win.
“Again, not flashy so it’s not the glamorous pick, but my goodness, the guy has won and put them in a position to go or compete for the Super Bowl year in and year out and deserves that right to keep playing.”
Garoppolo’s Current Situation & Lance Praise
On Tuesday, August 23, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan was asked if the 30-year-old quarterback could still be on the team by the time the regular season starts on September 11.
“I think any scenario is possible,” Shanahan said ahead of the final practice before the 49ers face off against the Houston Texans in their last preseason game on August 25.
“I communicate with Jimmy all the time. He looks the same as he always has. He always throws it really good. So, he looks the exact same.
It’s known that the praise for Lance has been high, especially by Shanahan, who recently spoke to Sports Illustrated about evaluating the North Dakota State product when he only had 17 college starts and his 2020 season nixed due to the COVID pandemic.
“That’s why the evaluation was so hard,” Shanahan told Sports Illustrated. “I mean, it’s because of all the situations you just said, and also there was only one year of it, because they ended up getting canceled with COVID the next year. So you saw stuff in the games. You just didn’t see it over and over, because he didn’t have the reps of it. That’s what was so easy to see with Mac [Jones]. Just the system they played in with Sark [then Alabama OC Steve Sarkisian], the type of games they were in, you could see it a ton.
“Trey, you could make a tape and it’s all there, but there’s not a ton of it. … You go through it all, which isn’t enough. It’s enough to intrigue you, but still a risk. Then you learn the person, you find out more about him, and you believe in that. You don’t have to totally see it. You believe what you’re gonna see.”