San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan joined KNBR's Tolbert, Krueger & Brooks show this afternoon. No, he did not officially announce his starting quarterback. Sorry.
He also would not announce his backup quarterback. The hosts tried to get that information out of the 49ers coach instead.
"I'm going to save that for Sunday, Week 1, also," Shanahan declared.
Shanahan did discuss Trey Lance, though. The coach feels his rookie quarterback is progressing well. Nothing Shanahan said would indicate that Lance is ready to take over the offense just yet, but the coach is happy with the quarterback's progress in learning the playbook.
However, there is much more than simply knowing the playbook inside and out.
"It's not just knowing it, being able to write it down on the board, and being able to answer any questions and pass any test we give him," Shanahan explained. "He's been good at that since we got him. He studies real hard in everything. But it's going in the heat of battle against NFL defenses and having to react, and get the ball to the right spot, and know where to go.
"That's really hard to do [for] rookie quarterbacks, and that's what's been a big challenge. That's a big challenge for all rookie quarterbacks because the NFL moves so fast. There's not as [many] plays. You don't realize how every play matters, how even the competition is week in and week out. There's no easy teams to open up against."
Shanahan wants to see Lance develop consistency in his play before declaring him ready to step out on the football field for meaningful snaps. The coach knows the rookie still has learning experiences to go through before he's prepared to take over the offense.
"I think he's done better in each of his two games," Shanahan continued. "Hopefully, he'll get some more playing time this weekend (against the Las Vegas Raiders) and improve in this one."
Maybe Lance isn't ready to take over permanently, but Shanahan has indicated that the rookie quarterback won't spend the whole season on the sideline. Instead, there will be plays specifically designed for Lance, which will mean Jimmy Garoppolo temporarily coming off the field. It's a scenario that isn't foreign to Saints fans, who saw Drew Brees and Taysom Hill do something similar in New Orleans.
The 49ers have been working on those types of scenarios during practices this week. However, that presents its own hurdles.
"I haven't gone through it yet, so I'm sure, if I ever choose to do that in the regular season, I'm sure I'll learn," Shanahan said. "But I've always guessed [one of the challenges] is taking the rhythm out of somebody. I mean, for a quarterback, you get in a flow, and you can get hot, and then you can get cold. And I don't know how much it would affect with the individual in that way, just because I haven't ever done it before.
"That's what's been real fun for me watching New Orleans these last few years, that you had a guy, capable, one of the best to ever play this game in Drew Brees, and watching how he came in and did it, and watching how it really helped their offense and stuff.
"I know, personally, us having to prepare for them, how unbelievably hard it is to prepare for Drew Brees. But I'm watching our defense have to prepare all the different fronts and stuff when you get a guy in there who you don't know whether he's a fullback, or a receiver, or the Wildcat quarterback that Taysom was playing at those times."
After this weekend, the 49ers will begin preparations for their regular-season opener in Detroit against the Lions. Garoppolo will likely be the starter, but it would not shock anyone to see Lance enter the game at times to throw off the opposing defense.
You can listen to the entire conversation with Shanahan below.
