Trey Lance on being the 49ers’ Week 1 starter: ‘That’s the plan’

Joe Montana may feel Trey Lance isn't ready to play, but the 21-year-old, soon-to-be second-year quarterback has his eyes on being the starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers come Week 1 of the 2022 season.

Lance appeared on The Rich Eisen Show, and Eisen asked the quarterback if he expects to be the starter next season.

"Yes, that's absolutely my goal, to be as ready as I possibly can for OTAs, training camp, and absolutely Week 1," Lance responded without hesitation.

Most expect the 49ers to trade this season's starting quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, and officially usher in the Lance era in Santa Clara. The team traded a lot of draft capital to move up last year to select Lance with the No. 3 overall pick, leaving the 49ers without a first-round pick until 2024.

"If [Garoppolo] does [leave], he deserves to go to a great situation, so I think they're going to make sure they do get that done if Jimmy does leave," Lance said.

That would seemingly leave Lance, Garoppolo's backup in 2021, as the starter moving forward.

"That's the plan. That's the plan," Lance added. "That's my plan."

Lance believes there's enough talent on the roster to maintain the team's competitiveness, earlier today admitting that there will be "ups and downs," and he's not "expecting to be perfect" in his first season as a starter.

However, the young quarterback is excited about the possibilities.

"I've got a lot of guys around me to make a lot of plays," Lance said. "I mean, from top to bottom, the receiving room, running back room, wide back Deebo room, we've got some weapons, some special guys. So for me, it's going to be [about] finding ways to get those guys the ball as efficient[ly] as I can."

Lance added that he's looking forward to sitting down with Kyle Shanahan this offseason and studying film, better understand how his head coach sees the game, and make sure they are on the same page.