Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young has some advice for Trey Lance: Remain with the San Francisco 49ers. Lance may not have a say in the matter. The former No. 3 overall pick lost his offseason battle with Sam Darnold for the QB2 job. The team could opt to trade the third-year quarterback, or if there is a shortage of suitors, could keep him on the roster.
If the decision were up to Lance, Young believes the quarterback's best choice is to stay put.
"There's maybe a handful of 10 good places for quarterbacks in the league that I would want to go to," Young explained to CBS Sports Radio host Zach Gelb. "If you're not going to go to ... one of those spots that can take care of the quarterback, and teach him, and prepare him to be great, I might hang around even though I'm going to get kind of scout team stuff, because this is one of them."
Steve Young reacts to Trey Lance becoming QB 3 for the 49ers.
Full Zach Gelb Show chat on @CBSSportsRadio with @ProFootballHOF QB @SteveYoungQB here: https://t.co/1yUHwd1xsz pic.twitter.com/QN0PYcRAVo
— Zach Gelb (@ZachGelb) August 25, 2023
This isn't the first time Young has stated that, if he were playing in the NFL today, the 49ers, with head coach Kyle Shanahan as the playcaller, would be one of the organizations with which he would want to be. He sees it as an excellent opportunity for players like Lance, Darnold, and Brock Purdy to learn.
Even with Lance falling down the depth chart, Young believes there remains a benefit to staying with Shanahan and company.
"This is one of the 10, where if you're going to play quarterback, this is where you want to be," Young continued, "and you don't know how it's going to go down. Maybe a year of it, maybe you can put up with it, I don't know. But I know, if they were going to send him some random team that doesn't take care of the quarterback, I don't know that I would want that for Trey."
It's possible Lance could still get on the field this season. The 49ers went through four quarterbacks last season and still reached the NFC Championship Game for the third time in four seasons.
"You never know. But Trey needs to get on the field," Young said. "He's ready to get on the field and do more of what he did in the last preseason game ... There's going to be mistakes. There's going to be some haywire stuff. But in the big picture, it seems like he gets warmed up and gets going, and then he can compete with the big boys, with the big comebacks, with the big late fourth-quarter touchdown passes.
"So, to me, I want to see more of Trey. I didn't leave preseason saying, 'I don't know that I want to see more.' I want to see more of Trey, and I want him to find a place where he can go find the full measure of himself. I don't know that third string is the place for him, but I do know that if he goes to a place that doesn't take care of the quarterback, it's not going to get him to where he wants to be."