The idea of Trey Lance beating out Jimmy Garoppolo for the 49ers' starting quarterback job this season has been a subject that fans and media haven't stopped wondering about since he was drafted in April, but Lance says he hasn't even considered the possibility since the summer got underway.

The subject came up again after the 49ers' 15-10 preseason win over the Los Angeles Chargers Sunday night, during which Lance had two touchdown passes while Garoppolo finished his lone possession of the game with an interception. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan left things unclear after the game when he told reporters that the plan of starting Garoppolo in Week 1 remains the same but wouldn't commit to making an official announcement on the spot.


Lance, who bounced back from a slow start Sunday night to finish the game 8-of-14 for 102 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception, was asked in his postgame media session how much thought he's given to being the starter since the summer began.

"Zero," Lance said. "Just focused on getting better, learn as much as I can. We have such a great quarterback room and such a great locker room -- guys that I can learn from on and off the field. So for me, that's been the focus."

Chances are not a lot of outside observers will buy that, but Lance says he's simply been focused on trying to learn and adapt to the NFL game. He deflected to that answer when he was asked later in his media session if he felt he was ready to start if given the opportunity.

"I'm just going to keep learning -- learn as much as I possibly can. I have a great group of quarterbacks around me that are helping me along the way," Lance said.

Lance faced a somewhat similar situation in college at North Dakota State when he began his career behind a proven starter in Easton Stick (who coincidentally started the game for the Chargers on Sunday night). Lance said his college experience was a little different given the secure hold Stick had on the starting job but that he approached it the same from a learning perspective.


"Different mindset for sure," Lance said. "I knew Easton at the time was the starter. Easton was the winningest quarterback in FCS history, so I had no business taking that spot from him. So for me, I guess it is similar in the fact that I'm able to learn as much as I possibly can. At the same time, I think now I'm in a position where I still need to compete and be a little bit more ready than I did as a redshirt freshman in college. But similar for sure -- just learn as much as I can."

Shanahan may have been challenging Garoppolo (and/or trolling the media a bit) by not naming a starter Sunday night, but it also may be possible Garoppolo needs to perform at a high level in the weeks ahead to hold off Lance. Either way, Garoppolo says he's trying to stay focused on the task at hand and is not concerned about if Lance is gaining ground in Shanahan's mind. Another chapter in the story will be written next week when the 49ers host the Raiders in the preseason finale, in which Garoppolo can be expected to get a heavy amount of snaps to start the game.

"I think Kyle's always challenging us," Garoppolo said after the game. "He kind of knows us and knows how to push guys in certain ways, I guess you could say. But I'm not too worried about that. I'm just trying to get out there, get ready for the Raiders. I think we had a productive week against the Chargers, got a lot of good work out of it, but there's just so many other things to worry about. I'll let the chips fall as they may."

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