Getty George Kittle runs after the catch during the NFC Divisional round road win over the Packers on January 22, 2022.
In the past 15 days, there’s been some telling reports on San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance.
One: NFL insider Matt Lombardo reported on May 5 that he was told “the 49ers’ staff has been continually underwhelmed by Trey Lance.”
Two: The latest telling details came from former NFL lineman and Super Bowl 50 winner for the Denver Broncos Ryan Harris, who reported on Wednesday, May 18 that the 49ers have questioned multiple elements of Lance’s game including the “fitness of his arm.”
“From players I’ve talked to and coaches I’ve talked to who are at the 49ers, Trey Lance is really leaving a lot to be desired in terms of the fitness of his arm, whether or not he can digest the playbook, and can really start to process the game at a high level,” Harris told Tommy Tran of CBS Sports HQ.
Lance’s arm and other intangibles have suddenly become a hot button, trendy topic across the NFL online universe. But one man who has seen Lance’s quarterback play in Santa Clara addressed the topic on the Pat McAfee show on the morning of Friday, May 20 with his own bold details about the third overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft: George Kittle.
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‘Mind-Boggling’
Kittle first told the radio personality and former NFL punter that Lance, from what the All-Pro tight end saw, took “a bunch of steps forward.”
He then shared the key for Lance moving forward, but also added what he has seen from the young signal-caller.
“For Trey to become a really good quarterback in the NFL, he needs reps. And so, once this kid gets a lot of reps, just watch out because some of the things I’ve seen him do in practice is kind of mind-boggling, so I’m waiting for it,” Kittle boldly said to McAfee.
“Once Trey Lance gets a lot of reps just watch out because some of the things I’ve seen em do in practice mind boggle me” ~@gkittle46
Kittle Also Shared Nuggets on Lance/Garoppolo Relationship
Lance got his feet wet in the NFL waters last season with two starts, going 1-1 in the process. Kittle didn’t play in one of Lance’s starts (the first one versus the Arizona Cardinals on October 10), but caught one pass for 29 yards in the second one versus the Houston Texans.
But Lance’s situation was nothing like his fellow QB draft mates in Trevor Lawrence, Zack Wilson and Justin Fields — all three getting thrown into the NFL fire right away. Lance had to watch behind Jimmy Garoppolo. But Kittle pointed out that he saw Lance taking cues from Jimmy G.
“Jimmy G takes notes every single meeting. He asks questions every meeting. He’s in his books. And I think once Trey saw that, he’s like, ‘Oh, I need to do all that and more,’ Kittle said.
But there’s more benefits Kittle saw for Lance.
“And it’s also too, we’ve got a great quarterback room. We’ve got Nate Sudfeld in there,” Kittle said. “He’s great for Trey too, because he’s a people person. He helps Trey with the offense, and he did a great job helping him all year too.”
Through all the criticism that has sprouted online, the “People’s Tight End” believes that Lance is nothing like the rookie quarterback who arrived for his first Organized Team Activities (OTAs) last year.
“So Trey has taken, in my opinion, big steps forward,” Kittle said. “If you compare him to last year’s OTAs, I think he’s two different players, and that’s just exciting to see.”