Kyle Shanahan discusses Trey Lance’s future, insists 49ers haven’t given up on him

San Francisco 49ers social media exploded on Wednesday after reports surfaced that Sam Darnold, a free-agent acquisition in March, had beat out Trey Lance for the QB2 job behind starter Brock Purdy. Where does that mean Lance, a former No. 3 overall pick? That question is what all the speculation surrounded.

Things got even more interesting when the 49ers took the field for their third and final practice of the week, and Lance was nowhere to be seen.

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan joined KNBR on Wednesday to answer questions about the situation and the future of the quarterback position. Does he expect Lance to be on the roster when the team opens the regular season against the Pittsburgh Steelers?

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"I'm really hoping so," Shanahan responded on the "Tolbert & Copes" show. "I mean, this isn't a thing that we're giving up on Trey. This is more of how Brock played in his seven games, and that was decided before this season started. And then how good Sam's looked. They both looked good.

"But we do have to make a decision here, and you only get so many reps at it, and we feel, starting about 10 days ago, Sam really separated himself, and we got to keep it real in that way. But I feel very, very fortunate to have both of them here."

Ten days ago, the 49ers opened their preseason against the Las Vegas Raiders. It wasn't a strong outing for Lance, who was heavily criticized by the media during the following week.

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"I really hope when it's said and done that all three of these guys are here, and you never know when that's going to come up," Shanahan continued. "We needed four guys last year. It doesn't happen much, but if we can have Trey as an option here, I would feel extremely happy about that, and I think the other quarterbacks in our room would, and I think our team would.

"Trey's a very well-liked guy, one of the better people I've been around, and I do think he's going to have a lot of success in this league. It's been a tough road for him because the times he has gotten an opportunity, he ended up getting hurt and missed that window, and now he's sitting in this position."

What about the trade possibility? Are the 49ers seeking to deal the third-year quarterback?

"We'll always try to do right for Trey," Shanahan said. "If there's a better situation that his heart's in something like that, we're going to make sure not to do something that hurts him in that way.

"So that's stuff that I talked to him about this morning. That's stuff I'll talk to him about tonight and continue to talk to him about. But Trey knows how I feel about him, and I hope he ends up being able to be here, and that's the best thing for him. But we got to see what is the best thing from now until then."

You can listen to the entire conversation with Shanahan below.