Rich Eisen is high on Trey Lance and is eager to see the San Francisco 49ers' transition from Jimmy Garoppolo to the rookie quarterback. That's not to say that Eisen feels anyone other than Garoppolo will be the Week 1 starter. The 49ers have made it clear that the job belongs to their veteran passer.
But if Lance ends up with significant playing time, either due to an injury or poor play from Garoppolo — watch out. There will be no going back.
Ben Lyons was recently the guest host of The Rich Eisen Show and stated that it works out best for the 49ers if Garoppolo is the long-term answer.
"I think he's the long-term quarterback there," Lyons said. "They may not know that now. He might not know that now. But to think every Forty-Niner fan should be rooting for Jimmy G to be the long-term quarterback there."
Lyons went on to say that Garoppolo is still relatively young and has proven he can win—when healthy.
Added Lyons: "If I'm a 49ers fan today, I hope he's the quarterback for the next five years because that means he's continuing to win. … The idea of Trey Lance, right now, is better than Trey Lance."
Eisen could not disagree more, stating that he and Lyons clearly have very different opinions.
First of all, the 49ers traded away a lot of draft capital to move into a spot good enough to ensure that Lance landed in their laps. You don't do that if Garoppolo is viewed as a potential long-term solution.
"Garoppolo might start Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, what have you, and Lance will get in," Eisen said this week. "And if Lance does get an opportunity, which is probably going to happen because, you know, Garoppolo has trouble playing all 16, now all 17 (games), potentially. He'll get in there. And when he gets in there, and the light goes on, we'll leave the light on for you."
The competition within the NFC West should be intense. The Seattle Seahawks are always competing. The Los Angeles Rams now have Matthew Stafford at quarterback. Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray is always tough to defend.
"It's going to be deeper," Eisen said. "And if you've got a two-way threat, and you've got the running game ... (Raheem) Mostert and the rest of them ... and you've got a quarterback that keeps it and goes the other way, and Deebo Samuel coming across — maybe he's got [the football] instead of Lance, instead of the running back — look out, man.
"[Lance is] a much bigger, huger threat at the position than Garoppolo. Is he ready? Maybe not. You've got Garoppolo to sit there instead, under center, and he apparently looks terrific in training camp, all the better."
Eisen adds that the 49ers have put themselves in a great position, come the trade deadline, should Lance emerge as a potential starter this season.