Well, well, well. The inevitable statement has finally arrived. Rookie sensation Trey Lance is going to play this year, Kyle Shanahan confirmed to media Friday.
There is certainly much to be excited about whenever 49ers rookie Trey Lance takes the field. His personality and characteristics have quickly won over The Faithful, and the excitement has caught the eye of head coach Kyle Shanahan.
However, with the excitement comes the pressure, and Shanahan noted that in Friday's presser after practice.
"I think I gotta be conscious of it when talking to you guys," Shanahan told the media. "I understand that's the thing everyone wants to hear about, and everyone wants to know each day how practice went and where is he, and are [the quarterbacks] competing and all that stuff, but it's very easy for me when I'm not talking to you guys because it is what I'm trying to articulate."
In addition, Shanahan downplayed the quarterback "competition" to the backups trying to surpass the starters in a competitive spirit. He still maintained his stance that there was no current competition between the Garoppolo and Lance.
"You're just putting in an offense," Shanahan said. "Guys go out there and play football, and I know it sounds coach-cliche, but, I mean, the two's in every group are trying to surpass the one's, and I see Trey [Lance] the same way. Yes, it's the quarterback position; everyone is looking at that, but we're in a situation where I don't see [Lance and Garoppolo] competing."
Despite there being no competition, Shanahan confirmed that Lance would play this season when the situation was favorable, although that doesn't mean that the rookie would start.
"Trey's going to play for us this year [and] I know you guys are all running to Twitter on that, but I mean, situationally, he's gonna get plays," Shanahan added. "That doesn't mean he's going to go start or anything, but he's going to get plays. We got to prepare him for that any way possible. Every receiver who makes our team is going to play this year. I know it's different, but when you have quarterbacks have different skillsets and stuff, it kind of makes it easier for me to look at it similar to other positions, and that's why I don't think it's a problem on our team. And it's not a problem [on the field] when we're discussing what we want to do."
Now, it becomes a question of when, not if, the rookie sees the field.
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