The San Francisco 49ers have always said they were willing to be patient in rookie quarterback Trey Lance's development, despite trading a haul of future draft capital to move up to the No. 3 overall pick to select him. In year one, the Niners have shown that patience, holding onto Jimmy Garoppolo as the starter and allowing Lance to sit behind the veteran quarterback and learn.
How long does that patience last, though? NBC Sports' Peter King recently said that the 49ers have not yet decided how to handle their quarterback situation heading into 2022. If true, that would mean that holding onto Garoppolo as the starter remains an option.
Both Garoppolo and head coach Kyle Shanahan have said they are leaving the door open for anything. They also know that the groundwork for a quarterback transition has been set.
"I think there's a chance for anything," Shanahan said last month. "But I think we've made it pretty clear that Trey's our guy of the future, whenever that will happen."
Said Garoppolo: "Honestly, with the possibilities, I try not to close any doors too early. It's one of those situations, you've just got to let it play out, I think."
Unless the team wins the Super Bowl, the most likely scenario is that San Francisco attempts to move Garoppolo in the offseason. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated believes that Garoppolo hanging around in 2022 would be very telling in how the team views the quarterback's successor.
"I really do like Jimmy Garoppolo as a quarterback more than most," Breer wrote in a recent mailbag feature. "You can win with him, and the Niners absolutely did the right thing in hanging on to him and giving Trey Lance a year to acclimate to the pros. I think he'll continue to be a solid starting quarterback well beyond this year. But if he's still starting for the Niners in 2022? I'd say it'd be hard not to see that as a red flag on Lance's development."
That might be concerning, considering what the 49ers gave up for Lance, who is supposed to be the franchise's quarterback of the future. Although, if linebacker Fred Warner is to be trusted, San Francisco's plan for Lance may be unfolding precisely as the team hoped.
"Trey has got a bright future ahead," Warner told reporters after Sunday's win over the Atlanta Falcons. "We see it every day in practice on our side because he's out there dicing us up."
However, the team knows Garoppolo is their leader right now, especially with the veteran playing what general manager John Lynch recently called "lights-out" football and the Niners surging their way into the playoffs.
"[Garoppolo is] our quarterback," Warner continued. "We've rolled behind him the entire way. To see him playing at a high level like he is right now, we're going to need it."