The next few weeks reportedly could be huge in the career of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance.
This has been a weird last 12 months for third-year QB Trey Lance. This time last year the 23-year-old was promoted into the starting signal-caller spot over incumbent Jimmy Garoppolo despite the team reaching the NFC Championship game months earlier with the veteran leading the offense.
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However, Lance did not get much of a chance to prove he was the right man for the starting job after suffering a season-ending ankle injury in Week 2. Unfortunately for the young talent, he did not have the role waiting for him once he got healthy because 2022 rookie Brock Purdy took the NFL by storm late in the season in relief for Garoppolo when he incurred his own season-ending foot injury.
Now, the backup role is not guaranteed for Lance this season. While there is little doubt Purdy will be under center in Week 1, the first-round pick from 2021 is in a serious battle with New York Jets and Carolina Panthers veteran Sam Darnold for the QB2 position. A player head coach Kyle Shanahan has had nothing but praise for since joining the team.
San Francisco 49ers record (2022): 13-4, first place in NFC West
On a Friday appearance on “The Rich Eisen Show,” NFL insider Albert Breer explained why if Trey Lance can’t win the backup quarterback role in the preseason, the San Francisco 49ers will definitely gauge his value on the trade market.
“I think it’s wide open. That’s my interpretation of it. I don’t think Trey’s necessarily the number two. Obviously, if he’s not the number two that opens up other questions. If someone is willing to give them a draft pick, do you do it? Do the ‘9ers, who like Trey as a person, want to afford him the opportunity to get a fresh start somewhere else with the acknowledgment that the opportunity might not be there for him? … Big decisions are made on quarterbacks in year three.”
– Albert Breer
It makes a lot of sense for the San Francisco 49ers — despite a wild situation of multiple injuries to their QBs last season — to ponder moving Lance because two somewhat pricey backups may not be the most effective way to use their salary cap space in 2023.