Getty Trey Lance #5 of the San Francisco 49ers looks to pass against the Detroit Lions.
Following a long offseason battle at quarterback, veteran Jimmy Garoppolo was named a San Francisco 49ers starter, but that didn’t mean rookie gunslinger Trey Lance was out of a job.
In fact, as expected, we saw him in action sooner rather than later in the Niners’ Week 1 matchup vs. Detroit.
Lance came in for Garoppolo in the first quarter and tossed a five-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Trent Sherfield––marking his second career touchdown.
6 points for the new guys 🙌
📺 #SFvsDET on FOX
ALL the latest 49ers news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on 49ers newsletter here!
Fans React to Lance’s First TD
It would only make sense for Lance to sit behind Garoppolo for a year and learn, right? *sarcasm*
But to Jimmy G fans he’s suppose to be on the bench the whole season right 😜
— ❌ADAM❌ (@ARock559) September 12, 2021
Lance’s first regular-season touchdown pass even confused other teams’ fans:
Vikings fan here, did Jimmy G get injured or pulled already? I thought he was starting? I have Kittle in FF, so I’m curious 🧐 and good for the new guy!
— The 13th Taco (@The13thTaco) September 12, 2021
He’s not wrong:
Every NFL pass Trey Lance has thrown in a regular season game has been a touchdown.
— Andrew 🌊 (@AndrewTakesWs) September 12, 2021
Could Jimmy Garoppolo’s starting job be in jeopardy?
Bye Jimmy.
— 49ers4🐐ers (@DJosiahD3) September 12, 2021
According to some Niners fans, they are ready for Lance to start after see just one touchdown pass:
Have you made Trey Lance the starter yet? That’s a possible indicator with that TD pass very early in the game.
— Robert Dicara (@bballguy1985) September 12, 2021
There is just no mercy for Garoppolo anymore:
Bench Jimmy
— K (@3bycurry) September 12, 2021
Lance Was Reported to Play in Week 1
How soon we would see Lance in action was no longer a question after head coach Kyle Shanahan revealed last week that Lance would see action in game 1, but not as the Niners’ starter.
“Trey’s going to play this year. I know you’re all running to Twitter with that,” Shanahan told reporters, via Tracy Sandler, founder and CEO of Fangirl Sports Network. “Situationally, he’s going to get plays. That doesn’t mean that he’s going to be the starter or anything, but he’s going to get plays and you’ve got to prepare him for that every way possible.”
What was somewhat surprising was how soon we saw Lance thrown into action after Shanahan spent the entire offseason trying to downplay any quarterback competition.
“Kyle Shanahan still won’t call the QB competition a QB competition, but he did say Trey Lance will play Week 1 even if he’s a backup,” Sports Illustrated’s Grant Cohn tweeted on August 6th. “Only a matter of time until Shanahan names Lance the starter.”
It’s still too soon to tell what Shanahan’s plan is and if Lance will take over the starting role this season, but it’s hard to imagine he put the Niners’ future on the line to draft Lance as a backup.
READ NEXT: