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With all the hype surrounding San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance heading into Week 1, the sophomore signal-caller failed to reach elevated expectations. During the season opener against the Chicago Bears on a very wet and soggy Soldier Field, Lance completed 13-of-28 passes for 164 yards and an interception during the team’s 19-10 loss.
The Niners were immediately slammed with criticism from analysts across the league calling for backup Jimmy Garoppolo to start instead, but Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice tells Heavy Sports that’s nonsense.
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In an exclusive interview with Heavy on September 15 during the Thursday Night Football Season Kickoff Party in Los Angeles, Rice, who hosted the event by Amazon Prime and Amazon Video for the streamer’s inaugural game of the 2022 NFL season, suggested that Lance should remain QB1 and that it would be “ideal” for Garoppolo to get shipped to the Dallas Cowboys.
“There’s gonna be this debate about Trey Lance and Jimmy G all season long we all know that,” the three-time Super Bowl champion said.
“Dallas is really in big need right now. They’re desperate right now,” Rice told Heavy Sports. “I don’t know, but I’m sure Jimmy G gotta look for the right opportunity for him. I think he wants to be that starting quarterback and it would be ideal for him if he went to Dallas.”
During the Cowboys’ season-opening loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, starting quarterback Dak Prescott suffered a fractured thumb on his throwing hand, which is expected to keep him out six-to-eight weeks. While team owner Jerry Jones said he plans to stick with Cooper Rush as the backup quarterback, he might have a change of heart depending on how the next few weeks pan out, and how quickly Prescott can recover.
Although it was highly expected for the Niners to trade Garoppolo this offseason, San Francisco re-signed him to a one-year, $7 million contract. And even though Garoppolo led the Niners to two NFC Championship games over the past three seasons, including a Super Bowl appearance in 2019, Rice says it’s best for the 30-year-old quarterback’s career to move on.
Rice Believes Lance Will Turn Things Around: ‘Makes Everybody Better Around Him’
Rice offered no excuses for Lance’s performance in the season opener, but the 13-time Pro Bowler is confident that the Niners’ No. 3 overall pick from the 2021 NFL draft has everything it takes to cement himself as their franchise quarterback.
“That first game, I know you don’t make excuses or anything, but when you’re on the road, you can’t turn the ball over,” Rice said. “To be honest with you, I think Trey, he made a few mistakes, interception, he overthrew to the tight end. Overall, he played a pretty good game, but you just can’t turn the ball over.”
As for Lance’s chances to remain the starter throughout the season, Rice told Heavy Sports that a little bit of patience will go a long way because he’s got all the makings to be a true dual-threat superstar.
“I really do because I’ve been around this guy — his composure, his philosophy about the game, the way he makes everybody better around him. Plus, he brings a dimension to the 49ers that we haven’t had, that mobile quarterback that can run the ball.”
“So defensive coordinators, they have to focus in on that now,” Rice said. “There was one incident in that game [against the Bears], where it was third down, I think Kyle Shanahan called a quarterback draw and we needed about 12 yards. You don’t normally do that unless you have a mobile quarterback!”
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Niners Look to Turn Things Around Against Seahawks in Week 2
Lance and the Niners will look to bounce back in Week 2 when they take on their NFC West rivals, the Seattle Seahawks, on Sunday, September 18.
Like Rice, Sacramento Bee reporter Chris Biderman believes the North Dakota State alum can turn things around.
Biderman tweeted following the Week 1 loss, “49ers have outgained the Bears 330-206 but were doomed by 12 penalties and two turnovers, including one in the red zone. They had two third-down stops negated by flags leading to touchdowns. Trey Lance was pretty meh but not the reason they lost, IMO.”
In Week 15, the Niners will face off against the Seahawks once more for Thursday Night Football. For fans who are not yet Prime members, but want to watch these primetime matchups, Amazon announced those who sign up can get also deals on NFL-licensed gear, exclusive experiences, and more at Amazon.com/TNFcentral.
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