The San Francisco 49ers have already declared that the plan is to have Jimmy Garoppolo out on the field as the starting quarterback for Week 1 against the Detroit Lions. Rookie Trey Lance, the No. 3 overall pick, will sit and learn behind the veteran.
At least, that is the plan.
San Francisco held onto Garoppolo this offseason, so it doesn't have to rush a rookie out onto the field and doesn't have to depend on an inexperienced player to lead the talented roster. The team has a lot of confidence in Garoppolo to lead the talented roster this season.
"I want Jimmy to be here, and I want this kid to be brought along," Shanahan told reporters after the team drafted Lance. "I want to see how he does. And if it turns into a competition, it turns into a competition. I'd be excited about that, if he showed he was ready for it and stuff. But we know where Jimmy is at."
Lance would have to show that he is ahead of schedule and ready for a training camp battle to supplant Garoppolo. As Shanahan said, that will be no easy feat. But anything is possible. While the coach has not dismissed the possibility of a competition between the two quarterbacks, he simply doesn't expect it.
DraftKings Sportsbook released the betting odds for the Week 1 starter, and Garoppolo is a comfortable favorite to be the Week 1 starter. Below are the odds for the 49ers' starting quarterback against the Lions.
- Jimmy Garoppolo -278
- Trey Lance +220
- Josh Rosen +3300
- Nate Sudfeld +4000
"I don't know what I expect," Shanahan recently told Michael Irvin on the former NFL receiver's podcast. "I expect [Lance] to be a real good player. I don't know if it's going to be this week, next week, or next year, but I expect him to be a real good player, and that's about where it ends. We'll see when he proves that he should be out there.
"Man, if one of our undrafted free agent pass rushers comes in, and they're better than (Nick) Bosa, they'll play over Bosa in Week 1 too. But that doesn't mean I think that's going to happen."
DraftKings Sportsbook also released the betting odds for the Week 1 starting quarterback of three other teams. Andy Dalton (-250) is favored over Justin Fields (+200) for the Chicago Bears, Cam Newton (-278) over Mac Jones (+275) for the New England Patriots, and Jameis Winston (-200) over Taysum Hill (+145) for the New Orleans Saints.