49ers give up 2008 selection, not swap

During Sunday's victory against the Jaguars, 49ers quarterback Trey Lance got his first live snaps since his first NFL start in Week 5 against the Arizona Cardinals, although most of them were handoffs. While the game seemed out of reach for much of the fourth quarter, head coach Kyle Shanahan elected not to put his rookie into the game to gain some of that "game-time" experience that Shanahan alluded to last week. Lance trotted out for the first time in over a month during the 49ers last offensive series, in which he handed the ball off twice, rushed once, and kneeled twice to end the game. When asked about whether Shanahan had any thoughts

Mac Jones is having an impressive rookie year. His New England Patriots have won four in a row and sit at 6-4. The rookie quarterback completed 82.6 percent of his passes and threw three touchdowns in a 45-7 rout of the Cleveland Browns over the weekend. Meanwhile, in Santa Clara, rookie Trey Lance, selected 12 spots ahead of Jones at No. 3 overall, hasn't received too many opportunities with the San Francisco 49ers. Of course, that was always the plan. Lance was drafted to eventually replace starter Jimmy Garoppolo, but use his rookie season to learn from the veteran quarterback and his coaches. Lance, after all, had limited experience at the collegiate level. Shanahan fell in love with Lance's potential. That's what made the 49ers trade to move up to select the

Head coach Kyle Shanahan stated this week that he's not willing to close the door on the possibility that quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will return to the San Francisco 49ers in 2022. Naturally, that led to headlines stating that Garoppolo might return next season when most figured the team would transition to Trey Lance by then. Of course, that wasn't exactly what Shanahan stated. "I think there's a chance for anything," Shanahan said on Wednesday when asked about Garoppolo's future. The coach went on to reiterate that Lance is the team's future. The timeline, however, remains up in the air, especially with Garoppolo playing at an impressive level over the last

As the 2021 season reaches the halfway point, one thing is for sure: there is still a lot of football left. Even with the San Francisco 49ers sitting at 3-5, they still (thanks to an underperforming NFC) have a legitimate shot at getting to the playoffs this year. But it's not too early to start thinking about the future. If the season were to end now, head coach Kyle Shanahan would be coming off his fourth losing season in five years. The 49ers would also have over 30 players entering free agency, no first-round draft pick in 2022, and appear to be on the brink of a second rebuild under the current front office. Just for fun, let's begin thinking about what this off-season could look like for the 49ers. How this season wraps up will strongly determine the approach this