Joe Montana saw the Trey Lance trade coming. After falling in love with his potential, the San Francisco 49ers spent so much to move up in the 2021 NFL Draft to acquire the young, inexperienced quarterback. Lance only needed reps.
That wasn't going to happen with the 49ers anymore.
While Lance was drafted to be the future face of the franchise, a season-ending ankle injury during Week 2 and the subsequent emergence of then-rookie Brock Purdy altered the plan. Purdy showed he was good enough to play in the NFL, earning the starting job in the minds of head coach Kyle Shanahan and the fans.
That left Lance in limbo, fighting for the No. 2 job behind Purdy. He lost that battle to veteran Sam Darnold.
"I said this before: I think it was a tough fit for [Lance] in that system," Montana told 95.7 The Game's Larry Krueger and Allen Stiles on Thursday morning. "And with [head coach] Mike [McCarthy] down there in Dallas, I think he's going to run into a system that might fit him a little bit better.
"I kind of saw it coming when you saw him getting a lot of playing time in [his] last two [preseason] games there, or more playing time. I think they were trying to give him an opportunity to stay in San Francisco, but in the end, I think that they just needed someone that was a better fit in case Purdy doesn't make it through the season."
That better fit, in the mind of Shanahan, was Darnold. Like Lance, Darnold was a No. 3 overall draft pick who has, so far, failed to live up to expectations. The 49ers signed the veteran as a free agent in March after flirting with the idea of trading for him in 2021.
Shanahan sought to evolve his offense with the Lance selection. It just never came to fruition. Montana never really saw the 49ers-Lance pairing as a good match.
"Well, I think one of the reasons is he came from a place where he spent a lot of time running the ball, and that's not the type of system that he's in," Montana explained. "Can he run? Yeah, if you have to. But the game is played from the pocket, for the most part, in that system, and it's hard to learn and understand that game when you run, pretty much, I won't say a full read option when he was in college, but he spent a lot of time moving out of the pocket, getting the movement, and that's not the 49ers' style right now.
"He's a great athlete, and I'm sure he's going to find a place that fits for him because I think he has the ability to do it. I just think he was in a bad spot. I mean, if you look at Darnold, I think he got in a bad spot in the first place he went."
Montana added, "I think it's just finding that spot that you can plug yourself into that you're comfortable with."
What does the 49ers great think about Purdy, who has been entrusted with the starting quarterback job moving forward?
"He processes quickly, the ball comes out of his hand quickly, he makes good decisions, and he throws accurately," Montana said. "And you can't ask more of a quarterback. And as you can see, that system fits him and his style because he plugged in pretty quickly there. I mean, to come in from where he was and be thrown into that game, hey, my hats off to him.
"I look forward to seeing him play. He's exciting, and he's got a pretty good team with him, and that always helps out a quarterback, anytime when you got some weapons like they do."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Montana below.
