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The San Francisco 49ers are at a crossroads at the quarterback position, with Jimmy Garoppolo looking set to leave and Trey Lance set to take over.
Lance was picked as the future of the 49ers offense when general manager John Lynch selected him with the third overall pick of the 2021 NFL draft. But the key part in that statement is “future,” as San Francisco stuck with Jimmy G for the 2021 season.
The 20-17 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship, and ensuing press conferences, all but confirmed the plan is to trade Garoppolo. However, 49ers legend Joe Montana doesn’t think the 49ers should be so quick to move on.
“I think they keep Jimmy until you find somebody else,” Montana said in an interview with The Ringer on February 10. “I don’t think Trey’s ready to play yet, as myself and after talking to some of the players. I think it’s one of those things that if you can keep Jimmy healthy, he plays well enough to get you [to the Super Bowl.]”
Interestingly enough, Lance also did an interview on February 10 and was asked about “outside noise,” although his response didn’t center around Montana’s comments specifically.
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Lance Focused on What He Can Control
Lance sat down with Niners Nation’s Rob Guerrera to chat about his first year in the league and how he feels going forward. As mentioned, the topic of external criticism and speculation came up, and the young QB made it clear he’s not bothered by it.
“I only worry about people in our building, my teammates, my coaches,” Lance said. “At the end of the day, if I’m worrying about—no offense—but what everyone in your profession says, that’s not my job to worry about. So I’m going to keep trying to handle business the best I can, and be a good teammate, be a good leader, and find my role.”
It’s a fairly typical answer, and there’s no vague or obscure jabs at Montana. However, the timing of Montana dropping his opinion and Lance commenting on he views comments like Montana’s is interesting.
Lance is confident in his ability and his future with the team, but he is also keeping a level head. His first year in the NFL taught him a lot, and that means having high but reasonable expectations.
“There’s going to be ups and downs,” Lance said. “No one’s perfect. I definitely don’t come in expecting to be perfect, but I definitely need to be ready to go for [my teammates] because those guys, I truly believe and trust and know those guys are going to be ready to go.”
Lance in 2021
While the 2022 season looks set to be Lance’s first as the 49ers’ No. 1 QB, he can at least say that he’s already started an NFL game. In fact, he can say he’s started two.
Garoppolo missed Week 5 and Week 17 of the 2021 season with injuries, which gave Lance a big opportunity. The results were a mixed bag, as Lance went 1-1 as a starter and completed 31 of 52 passes for 441 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Lance was never expected to light up the competition in his early days, but the benefit of getting a couple of starts beyond just learning under Jimmy G makes a huge difference heading into his first season as the 49ers’ starter.
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