Much of the San Francisco 49ers offseason has been about veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who said his farewell to the 49ers media following the 2021 season, but remains on the roster three months later due to a variety of reasons.
However, that spotlight should be directed to Trey Lance, whose been continuously working on his craft this offseason, first with quarterback coach Quincy Avery before his current training with coach John Beck, to best prepare himself for the 2022 season.
With the uncertainty at the quarterback position currently, as the front office has said they're comfortable rostering Jimmy Garoppolo for 2022, have the 49ers' front office failed Trey Lance?
At the moment, they haven't failed their rookie quarterback.
Last week, when speaking at the NFL's annual meeting, head coach Kyle Shanahan expressed a significant amount of confidence in Trey Lance, sharing the belief that despite the current quarterback situation, the player that San Francisco invested three first-round picks in will be leading the offense in 2022.
Every detail has pointed to Garoppolo being off the roster prior to the beginning of the season. The 49ers signed quarterback Nate Sudfeld to a one-year deal worth $2 million guaranteed, signifying their trust in him as their backup quarterback. Garoppolo said his own farewell. The 49ers have continuously attempted to move him, and judging by Lynch and Shanahan's words, will continue to do so.
However, if Jimmy Garoppolo is on this roster in 2022, then that conversation changes.
Lance is already under extreme pressure, expecting to replicate the success San Francisco had under Garoppolo to quiet critics, and a starting-caliber quarterback looking over his shoulder on the sidelines following every mistake would only worsen the situation, whereas young quarterbacks would normally be able to learn and move forward to the next rep.
Additionally, the 49ers will be continuing their charade of not committing to either quarterback, which would hinder their 2022 roster and potentially waste another year of Lance's rookie contract, which is the prime window for San Francisco to contend for a Super Bowl. Remember, in each of the past five Super Bowls, one of the teams had a quarterback on their rookie deal: Joe Burrow(2021), Patrick Mahomes(2019,2020), Jared Goff(2018), and Carson Wentz(2017).
Moving Garoppolo would free $25.5 million in cap space, which could be used to sign San Francisco's draft class, as well as some extra money for the extensions of Deebo Samuel and Nick Bosa, while providing the necessary cap for a mid-season acquisition. Moreover, following the draft, the 49ers could still look to free agency to fill the holes they still had on their roster with the available cap space from a Garoppolo move.
Given their minimal cap space, if the 49ers keep Garoppolo, they'd also be jeopardizing their future, as it would call for more restructures for the necessary cap space to sign their draft class.
So, has the front office failed Trey Lance and the 49ers yet? No. But, keeping Garoppolo on the roster would be a mistake, not only for Lance's development, but also for the team's future.
PFF: 49ers QB Trey Lance one of players under most pressure to perform in Year 2
By Rohan Chakravarthi
Jun 18
While there are several success stories of rookies flourishing immediately in the NFL, there are certain players, especially quarterbacks, whose learning curves require some more seasoning.
Take Peyton Manning, who threw for 28 interceptions in his rookie year before becoming one of the best quarterbacks of all time, as an example.
Earlier this week, PFF named ten players from the 2021 NFL Draft class that are under the most pressure to perform in Year 2, and unsurprisingly, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance was amongst the group.
Lance, who was selected third overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, played
Former NFL player compares 49ers' Trey Lance to Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes
By Rohan Chakravarthi
Jun 19
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance has started to attract serious attention from the media, as many analysts are coming on board with the 22-year-old's potential as he enters his second NFL season.
During a recent appearance on NFL Total Access, former Green Bay Packers receiver James Jones continued the trend, going as far as comparing Lance to his former quarterback, Aaron Rodgers.
"I believe we're looking at a bonafide superstar [in Lance], like Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers," Jones said. "We had a small sample size of Aaron Rodgers, but all you heard out of the locker room and the people around Aaron was, 'Just wait. You
Bruschi: 49ers' Trey Lance has 'most to prove' among second-year QBs
By David Bonilla
Jun 24
The quarterbacks from the 2021 draft class will be linked together and compared for a long time. Most received a significant amount of playing time during their rookie seasons. The one who did not was San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance. He started just two games and spent most of his freshman NFL season learning behind veteran Jimmy Garoppolo.
The upcoming season will be different, though. Lance is slated to become the 49ers' full-time starter, with Garoppolo likely to be shipped out of Santa Clara. One ESPN analyst believes Lance has the most to prove among the 2021 first-round quarterback class that also includes Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Justin Fields, and Mac Jones.
"He is the one that has the most to prove because you almost have to prove your
Five Reasons to Trust Trey Lance as 49ers' Quarterback
By Bill Brown
Jun 25
With the debate raging in the media and fandom about whether Trey Lance will start this year, an important fact has been lost by some. The team says Lance will start.
That begs several questions.
What kind of quarterback is Trey Lance? What can fans expect from this fledgling play-caller? Can Lance buck the "Shanahan Curse" and win without changing his first name to "Jimmy?"
These are fair questions (Well, maybe the last one is a bit facetious.). With all this in mind, here are five reasons to trust Trey Lance as the 49ers' starting quarterback this season:
He has displayed incredible athletic potential.
Trey Lance's college tape litters the internet. It isn't unusual to discover hours of footage covering all the plays
