In the last three practices, Trey Lance has led the San Francisco 49ers offense. That's because a right thumb injury has sidelined starter Jimmy Garoppolo. The team continues to say that there is a chance Garoppolo can still play on Sunday against the Houston Texans, but things are trending toward rookie Trey Lance making his second NFL start.

Several players and coaches have stated that Lance has shown noticeable improvement on the practice field in recent weeks. The team has expressed confidence in the inexperienced rookie. Depending on the severity of Garoppolo's injury, it could be Lance leading the 49ers into the playoffs, assuming the team takes care of business during these final two weeks of the regular season.


"I think we've all seen it. You guys have heard it," general manager John Lynch said Thursday on KNBR. "His development has been tremendous this year. And I think we also know that the best way to develop is to play. We're 5-2 in our last seven, and Jimmy's been playing well. Unfortunately, he hurt his thumb [last week] in Tennessee, but the good news is that we remain encouraged with the way Trey is developing.

"How do you do it? You do it with everything you do, and his opportunity has been [on the] scout team. And I think you guys have heard the same thing that all our players are seeing and what we're seeing—he's really coming into his own.

"So now, you've got to go show it on the field if Jimmy's is not able to go. We'll see how that responds. Jimmy is a tough dude who wants to be out there every week, and if he can go out there and function, it will be his shot again. And if not, Trey has gotten the reps the last two days, and we're excited about that as well."

San Francisco gave up a lot to acquire Lance. The team surrendered multiple first-round picks and a third-rounder to move up to the No. 3 overall pick, where it drafted the former North Dakota State quarterback.

The 49ers did that knowing that Lance would be the quarterback of the future and that he would be a solid backup for Garoppolo this season.


"You don't do what we did in terms of draft compensation, all it took for us to get up to draft Trey, unless you're really excited about him," Lynch said. "And we certainly were, and we remain that way. I think we had a unique situation where we had the wherewithal, the support from ownership. [We said], 'Hey, we want to go draft this kid. But at the same time, we believe we have a roster that can play with anyone, so we want to kind of insulate ourselves there.'"

After winning their first two games, the 49ers lost four straight and five of six. It looked as though their season was over. But, as Lynch stated, the team has rebounded, winning five of seven and climbing back into the playoff picture.

Added Lynch: "We put ourselves in a tough position with the way we played early in the year, but we've done a nice job digging ourselves out of it."

You can listen to the entire conversation with Lynch below.



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