Jerry Rice will be among the watchful eyes in seeing a Trey Lance-led San Francisco 49ers bunch this season.
The legendary wide receiver who won all of his Super Bowls with the franchise still follows the team closely in his post NFL life. He also is one to acknowledge ideas of what the 49ers can do to better the team.
And that includes admitting one idea on Audacy’s 95.7 FM The Game San Francisco on Monday, August 29 that “wouldn’t be a bad thing” for the 2022 49ers.
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Rice Addresses QB Situation
Rice is first a believer that the 49ers made the right decision to gravitate toward Lance over Jimmy Garoppolo.
“I’m thinking that the Niners made the right decision. It’s time to move on,” Rice said on “The Morning Roast” show with Bonta and Shaksy. “I don’t think there’s any big suitors right now coming after Jimmy G. You would think, with what he has done, that you would have teams coming after him.”
However, Garoppolo has managed to remain on the 49ers after an offseason glutted with trade rumors and if the Niners would release him if there was no suitor to work out a trade. This left Rice with this question: Is it a bad idea to keep Jimmy G as a backup behind Lance?
“No, it wouldn’t be a bad thing,” Rice admitted. “But I think with Trey, it’s his time. He doesn’t want to be looking over his shoulder because this guy, he’s gonna have some adversity. There’s gonna be some ups and downs. And if you’ve got a quarterback as the backup like Jimmy G, maybe he feels like, well, there’s pressure there because Kyle Shanahan might decide to go back to Jimmy G.”
Turns out another Ex-49er asked a similar question: Former 49ers safety and NBC Sports Bay Area analyst Donte Whitner.
Could the 49ers and jimmy both come to an agreement to make him the backup and he takes a pay cut? Could that happen? Is this the best move for both parties?
Still, Rice strongly feels that it’s the Lance show moving forward.
“They invested a lot into Trey Lance, so it’s time for [him] to put it on the field,” Rice shared. “And I think that’s basically it. I think with Kyle Shanahan [and] John Lynch, they felt like it was time to just give him complete control. Now, it’s up to Trey Lance to go out there and prove to everybody, ‘Hey, look, I really deserve this starting job, and I’m going to lead my team.'”
Rice Reveals Expectations for Lance & 49ers
Lance has shown some spurts of what he’s capable of in this 49er offense. His first preseason touchdown pass was a 76-yarder to rookie Danny Gray. He was also recorded dropping a 50-yard bomb to Gray during a joint practice session with the Minnesota Vikings.
Watching what Lance is capable of has the NFL Hall of Famer intrigued about what he’s going to do in 2022.
“I’m interested to see how Kyle Shanahan is going to put this together for Trey Lance, where he doesn’t feel the pressure, where he can just go out and play football, where we can have him healthy the entire season. And if all of that should happen, I think we’re going to have a fantastic season. It’s going to be exciting seeing this young kid just become a superstar,” Rice said.
Rice’s Monday morning interview can be watched below.
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Jerry Rice Dives Into What ‘Wouldn’t be a Bad Thing’ for the 49ers