Trey Lance is the starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. Jimmy Garoppolo is his backup. That is how the depth chart looks as the team embarks on its 2022 campaign. However, some wonder if that might change should Lance struggle this season.
Lance is entering his second NFL season and first as a full-time starter. He started only two games during his rookie year. The year before that, he started just one game at North Dakota State. Lance lacks in-game experience and is slated to get a significant amount this season.
Garoppolo has playoff experience, though. That is a nice insurance policy that the 49ers didn't anticipate having this season. But if Lance struggles, some might wonder if Garoppolo should take over.
"[Head coach] Kyle [Shanahan] makes those decisions, who plays at quarterback and when," general manager John Lynch said Friday morning on KNBR's Murph & Mac show. "And I know Kyle, just like we've stated many times, we're very committed to Trey Lance. We've got a lot of belief in Trey.
"And it's nice to know that we have a couple of guys, with Jimmy and then Brock Purdy, who earned his way onto this roster. We feel really good about a position where it's good to be strong at."
Of course, some will point out that last season, after struggling early, Shanahan flirted with the idea of replacing Garoppolo, the team's starter at the time, with Lance. Of course, that line of thought ended when San Francisco went on a run before returning to the playoffs and reaching the NFC Championship Game for the second time in three years.
For now, though, it seems that the Niners are fully committed to Lance moving forward. Garoppolo is scheduled to become a free agent after this season.
You can listen to the entire conversation with Lynch below.