San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is excited about returning to football. The team starts training camp this week, and Shanahan believes he has a highly-competitive roster—maybe even his best as a head coach.
"It's about as good of a roster as I've [had]," Shanahan told reporters on Tuesday. "I love our team right now. When I just sit and go through our positions, some of the young guys that we've added, some of the young guys in the last couple of years who have quickly become some of our better players and leaders, I think our team's in a great spot to turn it over to a quarterback who hasn't played before."
That quarterback is last year's No. 3 overall pick, Trey Lance, who will take over as the team's starting quarterback. Of course, he has played before, but not much. Lance started just two games last season and threw only 71 pass attempts during his rookie campaign. That's not a lot of experience for someone about to take over the offense of one of the most storied franchises in sports.
Shanahan believes the 49ers have a roster good enough to survive any growing pains that Lance may undergo.
"We might have some interior [offensive] linemen who haven't [played much]," Shanahan continued, "but when you've got the guys there, just talent-wise that we see at practice every day, and I see the people around them, it pumps me up, because sometimes when you start off with that, you know it's going to be a work in progress, which everything is.
"And we've got to go out there and get to what our potential is, just like we did last year. That didn't come until halfway through the year. We've got to do that a lot earlier this year, and I believe we've got the team to do it. Not everyone does have that opportunity—a chance—and what I see on paper: I see a chance. That's all you can ask for as a coach, and I just want to go to work with them."
The 49ers will hit the practice field for the first time during training camp on Wednesday at 10:25 a.m. PT.