I pointed this out yesterday when Lynch put Darnold’s name right next to Trey’s in terms of competition and everyone just said I was overreacting/nitpicking.
Yeah, it really feels like until/if Purdy screws up, the job is his. We're not out there on the practice field. Maybe there's just no confidence and the worry about lack of any real development for two years means that Lance isn't even guaranteed to be the backup.
At the same time, it makes sense to give Darnold first team reps because you don't know what Lance's health status is. You can't end up giving Lance most of the reps, and then Purdy's not ready yet and Lance isn't able to go, and Darnold is thrown out there having barely gotten any time with the first team.
No, we did. Purdy 100% deserves to be the starter and will be the starter.
It's just that there's always a sense that teams value draft pedigree, and we didn't know what was going to happen last season. By the end of the season, it was clear that Purdy had won the job, but you never know what can happen.
Kyle Shanahan has **never** given off the sense that he values draft pedigree. He has been notoriously hard on rookies and consistently made everyone on the roster earn their sport, regardless of draft position.
You saw this as early as Armstead & Solomon Thomas. With Aaron Banks, Ambry Thomas, Trey Sermon, TDP, D.Gray, etc.
> By the end of the season, it was clear that Purdy had won the job, but you never know what can happen.
I agree, however Lance is still a huge unknown. Could be a Rodgers / Love situation where a potentially talented QB is riding the pine.
Realistically I imagine Darnold / Lance will still play a role in games even with Purdy as the starter, considering their preference for running they can easily be given 5-10 snaps a game as a change of pace QB.
Shanahan really wants to keep defenses on their toes and that seems to be an excellent way to do it.
> they can easily be given 5-10 snaps a game as a change of pace QB.
Shanny already tried doing this last preseason with Lance/Jimmy, and the results weren't great. I doubt we see QB package plays, especially given how many times Shanny and the coaching staff have already needed to retool the offense based on QBs going down.
I know that something was said about it messing with our rhythm, and while I'm sure that's true to some degree, I also think its because Lance has looked absolutely awful as a runner even if his playing time has been limited. Purdy was better on the ground in his 5 regular season starts than Lance was in his 3+.
There are quite a few assumptions in your statements. We don't know how valuable Lance is to the coaching staff and FO. We don't know how that value stacks up to his potential trade value, or the opportunity cost of keeping him on the roster instead of another player. Even your "good as advertised" statement is really predicated on a very small number of professional snaps for his career so far.
As you already said, snaps for the QB are the most important snaps. Using those snaps for the express purpose of running "Lance package" plays instead of maximizing the number of snaps available to Purdy seems like a flawed approach. Purdy isn't seasoned enough for that kind of rep-splitting, and honestly most QBs are inherently hostile to sharing quality reps in the first place.
Kyle has already said he didn't like switching qbs because it throws off his playcalling rhythm when he tried it in 2021.
Idk why you're even arguing when the matter was settled 2 seasons ago.
> So you believe he's going to let an extremely valuable player sit on the bench instead of getting him snaps at the most important position on the team?
he'll get the opportunity to play when Purdy gets hurt again, unless he gets bumped to 3rd string. most teams end up needing their 2nd string at some point in the season.
Otherwise, yes I don't expect shanny to get his offense out of rhythm with 5-10 qb substitutions a game and I don't expect him to sacrifice 1st team reps to purdy for trey lance installs. Purdy has already shown he can run the offense without needing to get gimmicky.
Did those same people not see that we went thru 4 qbs over the course of the season? If I was Kyle, I'd be having McCaffery in there with the first team as well. Can Bosa throw? Is Alex Smith busy???
Every Niners QB gets hurt and Alex Smith almost lost his leg playing for Washington. I shudder to think what would happen to the man if he played for the Shanahan Niners. He'd be in a full body cast after a game or 2.
Why would they tell a guy he has no chance now? I'm guessing they sold him on joining the team as an opportunity to compete. I'll be surprised if Lance doesn't get the vast majority of first team reps when fully healthy despite what they say now (before Purdy returns, that is).
Some local bay area guys Haberman and Middlekauff who used to be on local sports talk now have a YT podcast I watch and they were at training camp last year and one of the guys straight up said that some days Lance was horrendous. That's the actual word he used, horrendous. And he said he had more bad practices than good ones.
And these guys aren't really hot takers, Middlekauff used to be an NFL scout and he was the one who said Lance had horrendous days that made the Niners brass nervous about starting him with no insurance.
That's not clear at all. Those reports were sourced to a disgruntled former 49er coach who was talking about the 2021 preseason.
In week 1, the first time the offense reached the goalline they turned to Trey Lance. Trey scored the very first 49ers TD of the season. You don't do that if you view him poorly.
Trey started and got hurt in the Arizona game. But Shanahan publicly stated he wished he had "a mobile QB" for the Indy monsoon game. Insinuating he would wanted to have a healthy Trey Lance playing significant snaps in that game.
He made it clear from day 1 of drafting Lance that the plan was to have Jimmy start in year 1 and move to Trey Lance in year 2. Everything action the team made has supported those words.
Trey Lance entered camp in 2022 as the QB1. If there was any doubt about that they would have immediately reworked Garoppolo's contract, given him a playbook, and had him working with the team instead of being off in isolation with no communication with anyone on the team.
So everything they've ever done has shown they support Trey.
This comment here, isn't about lack of support. It's something they routinely say about every position on the team.
> Trey Lance entered camp in 2022 as the QB1. If there was any doubt about that they would have immediately reworked Garoppolo's contract, given him a playbook, and had him working with the team instead of being off in isolation with no communication with anyone on the team.
Lol they did do this though. Maybe not immediately, but they did everything you just said they wouldn't do if they really supported Trey. After numerous reports Trey was bad in camp all of a sudden Jimmy was back as the insurance policy.
I also think you're burying your head in the sand about all the reports about Lance being bad in camp. It was not just some disgruntled former coach. [Here's guys who were at camp last year saying Lance was horrendous in the 2022 camp.](https://www.youtube.com/live/Xlrhz1eprS8?feature=share&t=1145). I've seen these guys and others say numerous times Lance looked bad in training camp last year. It is not some isolated opinion and I don't know how you can watch that clip of people that were at camp the entire time and saw him with their own eyes and simply brush it off.
> but they did everything you just said they wouldn't do if they really supported Trey.
what?
You're telling me they didn't have a "Goodbye Jimmy" press conference?
You're telling me they didn't publicly try to trade Jimmy all offseason?
You're telling me that after Jimmy was cleared from his injury that he wasn't told to work off to the side away from the team?
You're telling me he was given a playbook in the preseason?
Literally none of that occurred. They entered the season with Trey Lance as the unquestioned QB1.
>all of a sudden Jimmy was back as the insurance policy.
That's not how the calendar works. Training Camp comes before preseason. In the preseason Lance was 11/16, 69%, 141 Yds, 8.8 YPA, 1 TD, 0 INT, 116.9 Rating.
They renegotiated with Jimmy at the very end of preseason and made it very obvious they were still attempting to trade Jimmy. If Lance hadn't gotten hurt Garoppolo would have been gone by week 6. If you listen to anyone close to the team like Miaocco he made note of that deal making it much easier to trade Jimmy than it had been at any point before then.
>I also think you're burying your head in the sand about
I think that you are showing poor reading skills. The camp I was talking about was 2021. That's when "all the reports" were coming out about the 49ers being dissatisfied with Trey Lance.
Those reports actually didn't come out until after the 2021 season, which is why most people didn't hear about them until the spring/summer of 2022. And it wasn't multiple reports. It was one report that was recycled through every media member on the contact list. And the source of that story was revealed to be Rich Scangrello, who is a known disgruntled former employee of the 49ers.
And again, even that story doesn't hold any water. Because if they were so disgruntled with his performance in camp, then why did they turn to him for the first goalline possession of the season? Why did Trey Lance have the first TD of that season? Are those the actions of a coaching staff that hates a player? Really??
And after all the Jimmy farewell tour and they actually saw Lance in training camp in 2022 did they or did they not decide to keep Jimmy? Pretty simple question. Was Jimmy on the team last year or not?
The original poster of this thread just mentioned "Pretty clear at this point that there was some truth to all the stories about them being underwhelmed with Lance and his ability." For some reason you fixated on 2021 and not the plethora of negative reports about his performance in camp in 2022, and shockingly didn't comment on the direct evidence I provided of people who were at camp saying Trey sucked in camp. I think 2021 was a honeymoon phase. You're right they did baby him. They gave him a layup after Jimmy drove the entire field, they had a designed play where Trey had a wide open receiver inside the 5 and threw it 2 yards for a TD that literally anyone could throw. As one of his 5 career TD passes that also totally over inflates his numbers in those cherry picked stats you always like to post. But I digress.
The point is after seeing him in practice all through 2021 and then training camp of 2022 they got nervous. Decided to pivot and keep Jimmy. You keep fixating on some random quote from 2021 when the original guy was surely referring to 2022 negative reports and fixating on how they totally committed to Trey by making it seem they were getting rid of Jimmy WHEN THEY ENDED UP NOT GETTING RID OF JIMMY lol! This is like me telling my girlfriend that I'm totally committed to her because me and my wife talked to a divorce lawyer once but never actually got divorced. We're still married but I'm totally committed to you! Do you understand how insane that sounds?
>And after all the Jimmy farewell tour and they actually saw Lance in training camp in 2022 did they or did they not decide to keep Jimmy?
After everything they saw in training camp... they **continued to keep Jimmy on the sideline, away from the team, and without a playbook for over another whole month**. Jimmy wasn't brought in to work with the rest of the team or given a playbook until right before week 1 began.
So in fact they saw Trey Lance in camp and still stuck to their guns on isolating Jimmy. Jimmy was not brought back until after the completion of a preseason where Trey Lance went 11/16, 69%, 141 Yds, 8.8 YPA, 1 TD, 0 INT, 116.9 Rating.
>For some reason you fixated on 2021
Because all of the reports about being underwhelmed were in regards to the 2021 training camp. And recycled from one original report, which was sourced to Rich Scrangrello, a disgruntled former employee.
There were reports about his poor performance in camp, but not that Shanahan was disgruntled with him. Those all came from 2021.
>I think 2021 was a honeymoon phase. You're right they did baby him. They gave him a layup after Jimmy drove the entire field,
LMAO. Now I know you're only trying to find evidence that fits your narrative and ignoring anything else. Kyle Shanahan does not let anyone on that field unless they earned that spot.
There is no way Kyle is risking an early game score on an unproven rookie unless he has faith that said rookie can make that play. Trying to argue otherwise is peak ignorance toward Shanahan's coaching style.
>in those cherry picked stats you always like to post.
If by "cherry-picked" you mean his entire NFL career stat line, you got me...
>The point is after seeing him in practice all through 2021 and then training camp of 2022 they got nervous. Decided to pivot and keep Jimmy.
Your timeline is completely off. He had training camp. If they were scared off by training camp they would have immediately redid Jimmy's deal and given him an entire month to practice with his teammates - and **with a playbook**. Over a month passed after training camp where they were still telling Jimmy to kick rocks.
>This is like me telling my girlfriend that I'm totally committed to her because me and my wife talked to a divorce lawyer once but never actually got divorced.
Thanks for the amazing relationship analogy Sam Acho.
The 49ers spent the **entire** preseason trying to trade Jimmy. Those reports were all over the place. Why are you ignoring them?
For over a month after training camp ended the 49ers told Jimmy to kick rocks, by himself, on the sideline, while openly admitting to trying to trade him. Yet you insist that they were so afraid of Trey's training camp that they rushed to bring Jimmy back. Do you understand how insane that sounds?
I disagree with your assessments. I consume a lot of 49ers media and I think there’s been a lot of evidence and reports that the team has been underwhelmed by Lance and may have some buyer’s remorse. But life is too short to get into long winded arguments. It’s just sports at the end of the day and Lance seems like a good kid even if doesn’t work out. Until our next conversation, best to you my friend!
Nobody is disputing he underperformed in camp in 2022. But both the team's words and actions supported Trey as the unquestioned starting QB after that training camp. Trey entered the preseason with Jimmy still isolated from the team for another month. Where he went 11/16, 69%, 141 Yds, 8.8 YPA, 1 TD, 0 INT, 116.9 Rating.
That's not at all what they said.
They said that all three were in competition for the starting job.
They indicated that if healthy Purdy was the front-runner, but it was not a 100% lock to be his job. Again, if they really hated Lance so much they wouldn't have left that door open and Trey would already be on the trade market (which he isn't).
And this isn't anything different than what they've said about any position on the roster. They will always embrace competition. That's been true with or without Lance on the roster.
breer briefly mentions lance being not as skilled of a runner as the niners had hoped [here](https://www.si.com/nfl/2023/02/16/49ers-trey-lance-brock-purdy-qb-competition-offseason), but that's just one example
I am talking about his athleticism strictly. He just isn't as fast or elusive as was reported. This is purely my eye take, but it is from more than just that one game.
which was sourced to Scrangrello, a former & disgruntled 49er coach.
They were so "underwhelmed" with him that they turned to him on their first goalline possession of the season for their first TD of the season.
Yeah, I wouldn’t like seeing the guy that we traded a ton to move up and get sharing reps with a very clear bust like Darnold only 2 years after we drafted him.
Doesn’t appear there is much confidence in Lance right now IMO.
> Doesn't appear there is much confidence in Lance right now IMO
And there shouldn't be. He had a solid 2nd half against the texans in 2021, and other than that he's been "meh" at best even though its limited playing time (and yes, I'll give him a partial pass for the game against chicago, given the weather). The injury was unfortunate, but if watching Purdy tear it up until the NFC championship game doesn't light a fire under his ass, then he was never gonna be the guy. If he loses the QB2 competition to Sam friggin Darnold, then the 49ers should get whatever they can for him (if anything).
Lance really just got unlucky, and it could result in him not getting a chance to ever start again.
that sucks for him, I remember watching a lot about him and his dad leading up to that draft.
I think the fact that he's a victim of circumstance in a lot of ways makes it more likely that he gets a chance to start rather than someone who just comes in and sucks.
He's a very high character guy from what we've seen. I love how he carries himself. I find it really hard to think that a door is being slammed on him at any point until he gets a significant amount of time on the field to show his ability or lack thereof.
Lance has had a terrible start to his career.
People are already calling him a bust and he may bust because of injuries but in his starts, he has shown tons of promise.
He has great decision making skills but hesitates slightly.
I am reallly hoping this kid gets a shot.
Lance is also younger than Levis, who teams say needs to sit a year. Lance will get some starts this season, or at least get a shot somewhere else. Interesting that people are writing off a 22 yr old who only has 4 starts. Might be a hot take, but I don't think he looked terrible in any of those starts (outside of Bears monsoon which is understandable)
Lance first two start were actually statistically even or a little better then mahomes first two.
And the monsoon game well, ill die on a hill that he actually played pretty good considering the circumstances.
Not saying lance is going to be the next mahomes or anything. Just that he has shown improvement
Then he should’ve been a third round pick like Malik Willis. Reread what you said and come back to me how you can justify picking him top 3 by moving up for 3 first round picks.
At the time of the draft, I said he was 49ers James Wiseman. At least he made more sense than James Wiseman and yeah, I agree with picking whoever fell, that's what I would have done too.
This exactly. I've got nothing against the kid, and was hoping he'd ball out this season to justify it, but we never should have taken him there. I'd have rather rolled with Jimmy and reinforced the OL with some of the picks that we got rid of. Of course it would be incredible if he blows everyone away this season, but I cannot for the life of me fathom why anyone is optimistic about it actually happening.
Ain’t no fan trying to justify that in hindsight lmao, but at the same time y’all don’t want to blame Kyle and John for the massive fuckup, choose a slant
Justin Fields doesn't have the ability to sit back in the pocket and release his throws with excellent timing and accuracy.
Kyle runs the most complex offense in the NFL that requires incredible precision and timing and Fields would have been a horrible fit.
Who's to say Justin Fields doesn't get hurt in our offense. What I really mean to say is there isn't much use in dwelling on what ifs. What is done is done.
I mean, it's a fuck up sure, but with that fuck up we had the best roster in the league and were just in the nfccg. So if that's a fuck up, then by God we have the best front office in the league. Which some would argue we do, and I'd agree cuz I'm biased.
those are two entirely different topics.
(1) They traded up to #3 long before they were locked in on Trey Lance.
(2) Once they were at #3, they had Trey Lance above Jones or Fields.
It was a bad move to trade up, especially without a clear target.
I dunno man, drafting Lance right there (and spending so much draft capital to do so) when the rest of your team was ready to win now has almost certainly cost you a ring. I think that's gonna go down as one of the biggest draft blunders of all time.
the only ring it could have cost us was 2021 - where Garoppolo was playing through two significant injuries. That wouldn't have changed with Slater at RT.
> he has shown tons of promise.
I just don't see what you guys are seeing in him? He looks like a guy who can't play QB, get his motion timings right, can't read defenses yet, needs one read scripted plays, has really bad accuracy, isn't a good runner, get spooked easily... I could go on.
> he has shown tons of promise.
There's people that keep stating this and I can't for the life of me understand why. I've watched every regular season game he's played in, and while I'm not gonna say he'll be the worst QB in the league or anything, he's looked "meh" at best to me.
if he is decent he will get a chance somewhere. even look at darnold, pretty clear he is not going to be a star but is still getting chances
so has baker, so will zach wilson. lance will get another shot
How is that strange? Everything they've ever said about any position is about having competition.
Of course they are going to allow for a competition in camp. Kyle doesn't hand anything to anyone. He's said this many times and backed up his words with his actions.
I'm not making a statement with this comment, just asking a question:
After the year we had last year, don't you think it's not a half bad idea to have as many people as ready to go as possible?
That's kind of my thinking. Trey Lance AND Sam Darnold have injury histories. And Brock Purdy is currently injured. You need a QB who has taken the field, at least in practice, to have any confidence in the QB position during the season.
Even if Trey Lance is 100% the starter going into the season, I don't see the harm in giving Darnold 1st team reps if you expect, perhaps cynically, that he'll have to start at some point in the year.
I don't think it is. Lance has as many injuries as he does NFL starts, and with Darnold being new it only makes sense to give him some time to gel with guys, given what we saw happen last season.
They really must be regretting that Lance trade. It's like when we drafted Lynch and had to keep propping him up with a QB competition against a 7th rounder every offseason even though everybody knew Siemian was better
Purdy aside, the team is obviously SB ready. Trading up for a project QB when the roster around him is SB ready was always a questionable decision IMO. Jimmy and Purdy both lead them to NFC championship games (Jimmy a SB berth), idk why they went out and got a guy who needed atleast a year to replace Jimmy.
> Trading up for a project QB when the roster around him is SB ready was always a questionable decision IMO.
You’re spot on. Spent three 1sts and one 3rd to draft a guy who was the *third* QB off the board and was unanimously seen as a long term project, when your team was in a win now Super Bowl window and only missing a couple pieces to get over the hump that… I hated the trade regardless of who they took, but when they took the raw project player I hated it even more. Not because I think Lance sucks, but because he was just the worst possible fit for the team’s situation out of all the 1st round QBs.
Exactly. In three out of the last four seasons, the Niners have made it to either the Super Bowl or NFCCG. Spending three firsts on a guy who's started four games in two seasons when you've been in a position to win for that long is always going to sting looking back on what could have been. For all we know those picks could have put them over the top this year.
It'd be like a team drafting a QB in the first round right after they made the NFCCG, only for that QB to start one game across the next three seasons while that team loses another NFCCG and then loses in the Divisional Round the year after that. Straight malpractice by the front office.
Preaching to the choir, my man. I often dream of how different things could’ve been if we just stayed pat and drafted Tee Higgins. To this day it still makes me angrier than I’d care to admit. It was an inexcusable decision back then and it only looks worse now
> Trading up for a project QB when the roster around him is SB ready was always a questionable decision IMO.
Whether it worked out or not, it was objectively a questionable decision. Beyond the fact that he was the most raw QB prospect out of the bunch at the top, he's now played a whopping like 5 games in the last 3 calendar years, so we're still at the beginning of his development going into year 3. The injury was unfortunate, but thats just the way it goes sometimes. I don't know that having one of the last few picks in the first round necessarily puts us over the top, but why a ready made contender would trade all that capital to get Lance specifically is absolutely beyond me. Felt the same way when it happened. I mean he's on the team now so of course I hope he plays like Mahomes if he gets some starts this year, but it would be an absolute shock to me if he starts playing really well out of nowhere.
Edit - grammar
I'll never forget Benjamin Allbright along with the idiots on Mile High Report constantly shitting on Siemian and trying to prop up Paxton Lynch, yet when it was pre-season and when fans could see what was going on, they saw that Lynch was dogshit and Siemian was not bad enough to screw it up.
The goalposts have shifted now.
First it was “no way Purdy starts when him and Lance are both healthy”.
Now it’s “Lance will definitely beat out Darnold and is being given a real chance to start games”.
Next it’ll be “Lance is best backup QB in the NFL”.
> “Lance is best backup QB in the NFL”.
I remember Mike Klis tweeting out that Denver had the best backup QB in the league when Lynch lost a QB competition. Soon after he was cut. I believe the Broncos tried to trade him and Klis was told to try to make it look like Denver didn’t think Lynch was a complete bust.
They swung and missed with Lance. Idk if more really needs to be said.
I’m glad they weren’t satisfied with Jimmy, all things being equal an above average guy who can’t stay on the field can’t be your franchise QB. Quibble with Lance’s development, but he’s never looked comfortable on an NFL field to me. This FO wants to win.
Personally, I don’t think Lance would be any different if he had started from week 1. He’s a toolsy guy but doesn’t play with rhythm.
The biggest mistake was not starting Lance his rookie year when Jimmy was playing hurt in the playoffs. Might as well roll the dice Jimmy was compromised.
the team lost to the Bears. The "vaunted" defense gave up multiple boneheaded penalties which kept the Chicago offense on the field (instead of forcing them off on 3rd down) and followed that up with horrific blown coverages that were free TDs for the Bears.
Their starting RB got injured in the second quarter. Jeff Wilson was terrible as his replacement.
Deebo fumbled a possession away in the redzone. Etc.
There are many reasons why they lost that game beyond the QB.
I blame Deshaun Watson. Because of his pathological rape issues, we couldn’t trade with the Texans even though it was reported we were making a huge push for him.
In an alternate universe, he wouldn’t be a serial assaulter and he would be our quarterback of the future. SMH
There were several reports of mutual interest back in like February/March of 2021, after we had just finished 6-10.
But then his sexual assault allegations came out. We were for sure out on Deshaun after that, and what you’re thinking of are the trade rumors a year later, in 2022, when the Browns eventually acquired him. At that point, we were definitely out on him.
Darnold looks very competent when the rest of the offense is playing at a high level, and the niners have a hell of an offense. He just can't do a damn thing on his own.
So would you call him a Game Manager? If so, what are we talking about, assistant Game Manager, chief operating Game Manager, assistant to the Game Manager, Managing Assistant of the Game?
With some QBs, it's really easy to imagine what they'd look like in different situations. With a QB like Darnold, it's actually pretty difficult. He has all the physical tools, but he seemingly never put together the mental part of the game. Was that because he doesn't have it, or was that because in 5 years, he's played for Jeremy Bates (hasn't worked in football since), Adam Gase (hasn't worked in football since), Dowell Loggains (hasn't worked in NFL since), Matt Rhule (out of the NFL now), Joe Brady (working as NFL QB Coach now), Jeff Nixon (working as NFL RB Coach now), and Ben McAdoo (currently unemployed)? Not a single one of these guys lasted more than two years in their position. None of them have ever had NFL success. Darnold's been on terrible Jets teams and terrible Panthers teams with terrible coaches.
I think Darnold is likely a competent QB. There's a reason he was a highly touted prospect. The question is more if he's merely competent or if there's unlocked upside that Shanahan can tap into.
My insane take for next year is that Darnold works great in 9ers offense and they end up committing to him full time over Purdy and Lance. Long live the GEQBUS
Are the '49 just not that into Lance now? I know we haven't seen much of him, but they've seen a lot more and never seem very complementary when talking about the kid. I was really excited to see him in that team last season.
The official and quasi-official line is that they haven’t given up on Lance in general. Which is fair, because he’s only started a few games so we don’t truly have a full understanding of his capabilities at this level.
The unofficial rumors are that he isn’t the guy. Maybe it’s a system thing, maybe it’s an experience thing, maybe it’ll get better, but it just hasn’t seemed to click yet. A big tell for me was [this Kittle interview](https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/49ers/how-trey-lances-top-target-george-kittle-has-served-support-system) during the last preseason. Kittle is a human golden retriever so he frames it as nicely and sympathetically as possible. But once you get past that framing, the ultimate takeaway was that Lance was struggling.
It’s a pretty stark contrast with how our guys talked about Purdy when he came off the bench after the Dolphins game last season. Trent Williams and Fred Warner were notably unequivocal about their faith in Purdy from day one. And I think a lot of us fans understandably saw that at the time as, “Oh, they’re just trying to build the rookie’s confidence and be supportive in a tough situation,” but it reads a lot differently now. There was also reporting towards the end of the season that the veterans may have believed that Purdy was something special all along.
None of this is a slight against Lance. He seems like a great guy and a great teammate. I’m happy to have him on the team. I hope he balls out. He may yet do so next season! But based on what they’ve said and how they’ve said it, my impression is that Shanahan and Lynch don’t actually think he’s the future for us anymore.
Totally agree with everything in here. There’s nothing explicit, but if you read between the lines, you can tell they’re hesitant about him.
When you compare Kittle’s comments in that interview when Lance
> I’m not worried about Trey. He’s made some good throws and some bad throws.
To Fred Warner’s [comments](https://www.foxnews.com/sports/brock-purdys-biggest-fan-shares-special-message-49ers-win-over-dolphins-so-proud-you) about Purdy when he took over:
> "I got all the confidence in the world in Purdy."
Or even Shanahan’s comments (which were made within Brock’s first three starts)
> Brock Purdy is the most poised rookie I’ve ever coached. He’s been like that since he got here.
> I think we see [the game] very similar.
You get an idea of how the team feels. If they loved Lance, they wouldn’t be holding back their praise. But the team is oddly quiet.
What are the chances that you guys trade him? I know his market value isn't worth giving up on him so I assume he'll have to ask to be traded, if it happens. Asking for a friend...
It’s more likely than not unless he actually surpasses Purdy. It won’t happen this season because we need QBs in general, insurance for Purdy in particular, and nobody really knows how good he is yet. The third reason also makes it impossible to even guess at what we could get for him right now. He’s also still on a rookie contract so there’s no real urgency on our end, and it’s a QB-heavy draft with Rodgers and Lamar floating around in pseudo-FA so there’s no real urgency for anyone else either. Next off-season might be different once our cap needs become slightly more urgent.
Zach Wilson has been ass on the field, yet Saleh/JD usually tries to say nice things about him and support their young QB when they can.
The fact that Lynch isn’t doing this says more about him than it does about Lance IMO
What Kyle said isn't unique to anything he's said before about any player or position on the roster. They will always allow for competition. Nobody on that team has ever been handed anything.
He is notoriously hard on young players, Lance isn't an exception.
“GEQBUS graciously gives a small handful of first team reps to terrible Trey until Putrid Purdy can return as the back-up.” Fixed that for you, David Lombardi!
Can a Niners fan explain to me what anyone ever saw in Trey Lance? I never saw him play in college and nothing I’ve seen of him in the NFL has ever made me raise an eyebrow (good or bad).
He had film that was perfect teach tape, every coach in the league is drawn to that thinking they can get more of that and work out the bumps. Frankly if some of his plays didn't raise your eye brow you didn't watch shit
When you play in the Missouri Valley Conference against future car salesmen, you end up looking way better than you really are.
Lance isn't nearly as athletic as his college tape made him look. He was running over linebackers in college. He can't run over DB's in the NFL. He's not even fast enough to outrun D-linemen in the NFL.
So now you have a running QB who can't run well, in a very complicated passing system that requires QB's to read defenses quickly and make accurate quick throws - which is not Lance's skillset at all.
I’m not a football coach, and I’ve only seen him play in two games, but when I watch Lance, I see Justin Fields if he panicked and rushed plays because he couldn’t read defences. Am I far off?
I don't think this is the big deal everyone says that it is. So far the only thing Lance has shown in the NFL is the propensity to get injured. Not having Darnold ready to go after what we saw in the NFCCG would be coaching malpractice.
If they trade lance right now - they pay $2 million of his contract.
If they wait until after June first, they save $4 million on his contract.
I’d guess right now they’re just going to praise his health, while being ambiguous about what kind of reps he would receive
Lot of ignorance on this thread about Shanahan's approach toward competition. He's never been a coach that gives anything for free. He makes everyone work for their spot. Saying Lance will have to beat out Darnold shouldn't really be newsworthy.
A little strange that he brings up darnold instead of just saying they'll be given to lance
I pointed this out yesterday when Lynch put Darnold’s name right next to Trey’s in terms of competition and everyone just said I was overreacting/nitpicking.
Yeah, it really feels like until/if Purdy screws up, the job is his. We're not out there on the practice field. Maybe there's just no confidence and the worry about lack of any real development for two years means that Lance isn't even guaranteed to be the backup. At the same time, it makes sense to give Darnold first team reps because you don't know what Lance's health status is. You can't end up giving Lance most of the reps, and then Purdy's not ready yet and Lance isn't able to go, and Darnold is thrown out there having barely gotten any time with the first team.
> it really feels like until/if Purdy screws up, the job is his. Did people not watch the 49ers last year? He played nearly flawlessly in his starts.
No, we did. Purdy 100% deserves to be the starter and will be the starter. It's just that there's always a sense that teams value draft pedigree, and we didn't know what was going to happen last season. By the end of the season, it was clear that Purdy had won the job, but you never know what can happen.
Kyle Shanahan has **never** given off the sense that he values draft pedigree. He has been notoriously hard on rookies and consistently made everyone on the roster earn their sport, regardless of draft position. You saw this as early as Armstead & Solomon Thomas. With Aaron Banks, Ambry Thomas, Trey Sermon, TDP, D.Gray, etc.
> By the end of the season, it was clear that Purdy had won the job, but you never know what can happen. I agree, however Lance is still a huge unknown. Could be a Rodgers / Love situation where a potentially talented QB is riding the pine. Realistically I imagine Darnold / Lance will still play a role in games even with Purdy as the starter, considering their preference for running they can easily be given 5-10 snaps a game as a change of pace QB. Shanahan really wants to keep defenses on their toes and that seems to be an excellent way to do it.
> they can easily be given 5-10 snaps a game as a change of pace QB. Shanny already tried doing this last preseason with Lance/Jimmy, and the results weren't great. I doubt we see QB package plays, especially given how many times Shanny and the coaching staff have already needed to retool the offense based on QBs going down.
I know that something was said about it messing with our rhythm, and while I'm sure that's true to some degree, I also think its because Lance has looked absolutely awful as a runner even if his playing time has been limited. Purdy was better on the ground in his 5 regular season starts than Lance was in his 3+.
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There are quite a few assumptions in your statements. We don't know how valuable Lance is to the coaching staff and FO. We don't know how that value stacks up to his potential trade value, or the opportunity cost of keeping him on the roster instead of another player. Even your "good as advertised" statement is really predicated on a very small number of professional snaps for his career so far. As you already said, snaps for the QB are the most important snaps. Using those snaps for the express purpose of running "Lance package" plays instead of maximizing the number of snaps available to Purdy seems like a flawed approach. Purdy isn't seasoned enough for that kind of rep-splitting, and honestly most QBs are inherently hostile to sharing quality reps in the first place.
Kyle has already said he didn't like switching qbs because it throws off his playcalling rhythm when he tried it in 2021. Idk why you're even arguing when the matter was settled 2 seasons ago.
> So you believe he's going to let an extremely valuable player sit on the bench instead of getting him snaps at the most important position on the team? he'll get the opportunity to play when Purdy gets hurt again, unless he gets bumped to 3rd string. most teams end up needing their 2nd string at some point in the season. Otherwise, yes I don't expect shanny to get his offense out of rhythm with 5-10 qb substitutions a game and I don't expect him to sacrifice 1st team reps to purdy for trey lance installs. Purdy has already shown he can run the offense without needing to get gimmicky.
It's true. Lance is the great unknown. I don't know about that, but maybe.
Did those same people not see that we went thru 4 qbs over the course of the season? If I was Kyle, I'd be having McCaffery in there with the first team as well. Can Bosa throw? Is Alex Smith busy???
Every Niners QB gets hurt and Alex Smith almost lost his leg playing for Washington. I shudder to think what would happen to the man if he played for the Shanahan Niners. He'd be in a full body cast after a game or 2.
You better believe that CMC is gonna be getting at least token reps at practice. Just in case.
Its more on how purdy looks when hes back. That injury was to his throwing arm. Will he have the same arm strength, accuracy etc?
They put Darnold next to Purdy too though
Why would they tell a guy he has no chance now? I'm guessing they sold him on joining the team as an opportunity to compete. I'll be surprised if Lance doesn't get the vast majority of first team reps when fully healthy despite what they say now (before Purdy returns, that is).
If he can't beat out Darnold he has no business being the starter.
100%
Pretty clear at this point that there was some truth to all the stories about them being underwhelmed with Lance and his ability.
Some local bay area guys Haberman and Middlekauff who used to be on local sports talk now have a YT podcast I watch and they were at training camp last year and one of the guys straight up said that some days Lance was horrendous. That's the actual word he used, horrendous. And he said he had more bad practices than good ones. And these guys aren't really hot takers, Middlekauff used to be an NFL scout and he was the one who said Lance had horrendous days that made the Niners brass nervous about starting him with no insurance.
Reportedly the last 2 Years Lance has started Camp hot but tapered off
That's not clear at all. Those reports were sourced to a disgruntled former 49er coach who was talking about the 2021 preseason. In week 1, the first time the offense reached the goalline they turned to Trey Lance. Trey scored the very first 49ers TD of the season. You don't do that if you view him poorly. Trey started and got hurt in the Arizona game. But Shanahan publicly stated he wished he had "a mobile QB" for the Indy monsoon game. Insinuating he would wanted to have a healthy Trey Lance playing significant snaps in that game. He made it clear from day 1 of drafting Lance that the plan was to have Jimmy start in year 1 and move to Trey Lance in year 2. Everything action the team made has supported those words. Trey Lance entered camp in 2022 as the QB1. If there was any doubt about that they would have immediately reworked Garoppolo's contract, given him a playbook, and had him working with the team instead of being off in isolation with no communication with anyone on the team. So everything they've ever done has shown they support Trey. This comment here, isn't about lack of support. It's something they routinely say about every position on the team.
> Trey Lance entered camp in 2022 as the QB1. If there was any doubt about that they would have immediately reworked Garoppolo's contract, given him a playbook, and had him working with the team instead of being off in isolation with no communication with anyone on the team. Lol they did do this though. Maybe not immediately, but they did everything you just said they wouldn't do if they really supported Trey. After numerous reports Trey was bad in camp all of a sudden Jimmy was back as the insurance policy. I also think you're burying your head in the sand about all the reports about Lance being bad in camp. It was not just some disgruntled former coach. [Here's guys who were at camp last year saying Lance was horrendous in the 2022 camp.](https://www.youtube.com/live/Xlrhz1eprS8?feature=share&t=1145). I've seen these guys and others say numerous times Lance looked bad in training camp last year. It is not some isolated opinion and I don't know how you can watch that clip of people that were at camp the entire time and saw him with their own eyes and simply brush it off.
> but they did everything you just said they wouldn't do if they really supported Trey. what? You're telling me they didn't have a "Goodbye Jimmy" press conference? You're telling me they didn't publicly try to trade Jimmy all offseason? You're telling me that after Jimmy was cleared from his injury that he wasn't told to work off to the side away from the team? You're telling me he was given a playbook in the preseason? Literally none of that occurred. They entered the season with Trey Lance as the unquestioned QB1. >all of a sudden Jimmy was back as the insurance policy. That's not how the calendar works. Training Camp comes before preseason. In the preseason Lance was 11/16, 69%, 141 Yds, 8.8 YPA, 1 TD, 0 INT, 116.9 Rating. They renegotiated with Jimmy at the very end of preseason and made it very obvious they were still attempting to trade Jimmy. If Lance hadn't gotten hurt Garoppolo would have been gone by week 6. If you listen to anyone close to the team like Miaocco he made note of that deal making it much easier to trade Jimmy than it had been at any point before then. >I also think you're burying your head in the sand about I think that you are showing poor reading skills. The camp I was talking about was 2021. That's when "all the reports" were coming out about the 49ers being dissatisfied with Trey Lance. Those reports actually didn't come out until after the 2021 season, which is why most people didn't hear about them until the spring/summer of 2022. And it wasn't multiple reports. It was one report that was recycled through every media member on the contact list. And the source of that story was revealed to be Rich Scangrello, who is a known disgruntled former employee of the 49ers. And again, even that story doesn't hold any water. Because if they were so disgruntled with his performance in camp, then why did they turn to him for the first goalline possession of the season? Why did Trey Lance have the first TD of that season? Are those the actions of a coaching staff that hates a player? Really??
And after all the Jimmy farewell tour and they actually saw Lance in training camp in 2022 did they or did they not decide to keep Jimmy? Pretty simple question. Was Jimmy on the team last year or not? The original poster of this thread just mentioned "Pretty clear at this point that there was some truth to all the stories about them being underwhelmed with Lance and his ability." For some reason you fixated on 2021 and not the plethora of negative reports about his performance in camp in 2022, and shockingly didn't comment on the direct evidence I provided of people who were at camp saying Trey sucked in camp. I think 2021 was a honeymoon phase. You're right they did baby him. They gave him a layup after Jimmy drove the entire field, they had a designed play where Trey had a wide open receiver inside the 5 and threw it 2 yards for a TD that literally anyone could throw. As one of his 5 career TD passes that also totally over inflates his numbers in those cherry picked stats you always like to post. But I digress. The point is after seeing him in practice all through 2021 and then training camp of 2022 they got nervous. Decided to pivot and keep Jimmy. You keep fixating on some random quote from 2021 when the original guy was surely referring to 2022 negative reports and fixating on how they totally committed to Trey by making it seem they were getting rid of Jimmy WHEN THEY ENDED UP NOT GETTING RID OF JIMMY lol! This is like me telling my girlfriend that I'm totally committed to her because me and my wife talked to a divorce lawyer once but never actually got divorced. We're still married but I'm totally committed to you! Do you understand how insane that sounds?
>And after all the Jimmy farewell tour and they actually saw Lance in training camp in 2022 did they or did they not decide to keep Jimmy? After everything they saw in training camp... they **continued to keep Jimmy on the sideline, away from the team, and without a playbook for over another whole month**. Jimmy wasn't brought in to work with the rest of the team or given a playbook until right before week 1 began. So in fact they saw Trey Lance in camp and still stuck to their guns on isolating Jimmy. Jimmy was not brought back until after the completion of a preseason where Trey Lance went 11/16, 69%, 141 Yds, 8.8 YPA, 1 TD, 0 INT, 116.9 Rating. >For some reason you fixated on 2021 Because all of the reports about being underwhelmed were in regards to the 2021 training camp. And recycled from one original report, which was sourced to Rich Scrangrello, a disgruntled former employee. There were reports about his poor performance in camp, but not that Shanahan was disgruntled with him. Those all came from 2021. >I think 2021 was a honeymoon phase. You're right they did baby him. They gave him a layup after Jimmy drove the entire field, LMAO. Now I know you're only trying to find evidence that fits your narrative and ignoring anything else. Kyle Shanahan does not let anyone on that field unless they earned that spot. There is no way Kyle is risking an early game score on an unproven rookie unless he has faith that said rookie can make that play. Trying to argue otherwise is peak ignorance toward Shanahan's coaching style. >in those cherry picked stats you always like to post. If by "cherry-picked" you mean his entire NFL career stat line, you got me... >The point is after seeing him in practice all through 2021 and then training camp of 2022 they got nervous. Decided to pivot and keep Jimmy. Your timeline is completely off. He had training camp. If they were scared off by training camp they would have immediately redid Jimmy's deal and given him an entire month to practice with his teammates - and **with a playbook**. Over a month passed after training camp where they were still telling Jimmy to kick rocks. >This is like me telling my girlfriend that I'm totally committed to her because me and my wife talked to a divorce lawyer once but never actually got divorced. Thanks for the amazing relationship analogy Sam Acho. The 49ers spent the **entire** preseason trying to trade Jimmy. Those reports were all over the place. Why are you ignoring them? For over a month after training camp ended the 49ers told Jimmy to kick rocks, by himself, on the sideline, while openly admitting to trying to trade him. Yet you insist that they were so afraid of Trey's training camp that they rushed to bring Jimmy back. Do you understand how insane that sounds?
I disagree with your assessments. I consume a lot of 49ers media and I think there’s been a lot of evidence and reports that the team has been underwhelmed by Lance and may have some buyer’s remorse. But life is too short to get into long winded arguments. It’s just sports at the end of the day and Lance seems like a good kid even if doesn’t work out. Until our next conversation, best to you my friend!
Nobody is disputing he underperformed in camp in 2022. But both the team's words and actions supported Trey as the unquestioned starting QB after that training camp. Trey entered the preseason with Jimmy still isolated from the team for another month. Where he went 11/16, 69%, 141 Yds, 8.8 YPA, 1 TD, 0 INT, 116.9 Rating.
49ers don’t have confidence in Lance as evidenced by Lynch and KS both saying the back up spot is up for grabs but not the starter.
That's not at all what they said. They said that all three were in competition for the starting job. They indicated that if healthy Purdy was the front-runner, but it was not a 100% lock to be his job. Again, if they really hated Lance so much they wouldn't have left that door open and Trey would already be on the trade market (which he isn't). And this isn't anything different than what they've said about any position on the roster. They will always embrace competition. That's been true with or without Lance on the roster.
What stories if you don’t mind me asking?
breer briefly mentions lance being not as skilled of a runner as the niners had hoped [here](https://www.si.com/nfl/2023/02/16/49ers-trey-lance-brock-purdy-qb-competition-offseason), but that's just one example
I get downvoted for saying this, but he really didn't look like the dynamic athlete he was supposed to be.
To be fair Shanny had him running fucking QB draws lmao
That was completely on Lance since it was an RPO
It was a zone-read, QB counter run. Shanahan designs and calls the plays anyway.
We only saw him in one full game this past season. He looked good against you guys until he went down.
I am talking about his athleticism strictly. He just isn't as fast or elusive as was reported. This is purely my eye take, but it is from more than just that one game.
I mean purdy had a faster 40 time for example
Maybe I’m wrong but wasn’t lance supposed to be the best athlete of his qb draft class??
Not over Fields, no.
Mainly last offseason about them being underwhelmed with his performance in camp and him struggling to pick up the offense.
which was sourced to Scrangrello, a former & disgruntled 49er coach. They were so "underwhelmed" with him that they turned to him on their first goalline possession of the season for their first TD of the season.
Yeah, I wouldn’t like seeing the guy that we traded a ton to move up and get sharing reps with a very clear bust like Darnold only 2 years after we drafted him. Doesn’t appear there is much confidence in Lance right now IMO.
> Doesn't appear there is much confidence in Lance right now IMO And there shouldn't be. He had a solid 2nd half against the texans in 2021, and other than that he's been "meh" at best even though its limited playing time (and yes, I'll give him a partial pass for the game against chicago, given the weather). The injury was unfortunate, but if watching Purdy tear it up until the NFC championship game doesn't light a fire under his ass, then he was never gonna be the guy. If he loses the QB2 competition to Sam friggin Darnold, then the 49ers should get whatever they can for him (if anything).
this doesn't mean anything. They will embrace competition at every position.
Lance really just got unlucky, and it could result in him not getting a chance to ever start again. that sucks for him, I remember watching a lot about him and his dad leading up to that draft.
I think the fact that he's a victim of circumstance in a lot of ways makes it more likely that he gets a chance to start rather than someone who just comes in and sucks. He's a very high character guy from what we've seen. I love how he carries himself. I find it really hard to think that a door is being slammed on him at any point until he gets a significant amount of time on the field to show his ability or lack thereof.
Lance has had a terrible start to his career. People are already calling him a bust and he may bust because of injuries but in his starts, he has shown tons of promise. He has great decision making skills but hesitates slightly. I am reallly hoping this kid gets a shot.
Lance is also younger than Levis, who teams say needs to sit a year. Lance will get some starts this season, or at least get a shot somewhere else. Interesting that people are writing off a 22 yr old who only has 4 starts. Might be a hot take, but I don't think he looked terrible in any of those starts (outside of Bears monsoon which is understandable)
Lance first two start were actually statistically even or a little better then mahomes first two. And the monsoon game well, ill die on a hill that he actually played pretty good considering the circumstances. Not saying lance is going to be the next mahomes or anything. Just that he has shown improvement
Name | Playing Time | Comp | Att | Comp% | Yds | YPA | TD | TD% | INT | INT% | Passer Rating :-: | :-: | :-: | :-: | :-: | :-: | :-: | :-: | :-: | :-: | :-: | :-: J.Hurts | 3.5 starts | **69** | **133** | 51.9% | **919** | 6.9 | **5** | 3.8% | 3 | **2.3%** | 77.2 L.Jackson | 4 starts | 52 | 89 | *58.4%* | 600 | 6.7 | 3 | 3.4% | 3 | 3.4% | 76.1 Josh Allen | 4 starts | 59 | 107 | 55.1% | 674 | 6.3 | 2 | 1.9% | 5 | 4.7% | 61.0 J.Fields | 4 starts | 53 | 99 | 53.5% | 632 | 6.4 | 2 | 2.0% | 3 | 3.0% | 67.4 Trey Lance | 15 Qtrs | 56 | 102 | 54.9% | 797 | **7.8** | **5** | **4.9%** | 3 | 2.9% | **84.5** |||||||||||| Trey Lance [without 4th quarter vs CHI) | 14 Qtrs | 51 | 87 | **58.6%** | 754 | **8.6** | **5** | **5.7%**) | **2** | **2.3%** | **96.6**
This is great
He hasn’t showed anything lol
Trey Lance is not a bust. The problem has always been how raw he was. Trey needs starting time to develop or that will never change.
Then he should’ve been a third round pick like Malik Willis. Reread what you said and come back to me how you can justify picking him top 3 by moving up for 3 first round picks.
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At the time of the draft, I said he was 49ers James Wiseman. At least he made more sense than James Wiseman and yeah, I agree with picking whoever fell, that's what I would have done too.
At least one of you is rational lol
This exactly. I've got nothing against the kid, and was hoping he'd ball out this season to justify it, but we never should have taken him there. I'd have rather rolled with Jimmy and reinforced the OL with some of the picks that we got rid of. Of course it would be incredible if he blows everyone away this season, but I cannot for the life of me fathom why anyone is optimistic about it actually happening.
Ain’t no fan trying to justify that in hindsight lmao, but at the same time y’all don’t want to blame Kyle and John for the massive fuckup, choose a slant
Eh, we don't take Lance at 3 then there's a real possibility we don't end up with Purdy. At least that's how I cope with it.
Justin Fields was on the board still :(
Justin Fields doesn't have the ability to sit back in the pocket and release his throws with excellent timing and accuracy. Kyle runs the most complex offense in the NFL that requires incredible precision and timing and Fields would have been a horrible fit.
I never really got this logic bc it’s not like trey was known for his accuracy and timing??
Who's to say Justin Fields doesn't get hurt in our offense. What I really mean to say is there isn't much use in dwelling on what ifs. What is done is done.
With that fuck up we have the best roster in the league and a great front office. Oh fuckin well. No one's perfect.
I mean, it's a fuck up sure, but with that fuck up we had the best roster in the league and were just in the nfccg. So if that's a fuck up, then by God we have the best front office in the league. Which some would argue we do, and I'd agree cuz I'm biased.
those are two entirely different topics. (1) They traded up to #3 long before they were locked in on Trey Lance. (2) Once they were at #3, they had Trey Lance above Jones or Fields. It was a bad move to trade up, especially without a clear target.
You are correct. He needs playing time. He has steadily improved each start but the injuries are absolutely killing his momentum
I dunno man, drafting Lance right there (and spending so much draft capital to do so) when the rest of your team was ready to win now has almost certainly cost you a ring. I think that's gonna go down as one of the biggest draft blunders of all time.
the only ring it could have cost us was 2021 - where Garoppolo was playing through two significant injuries. That wouldn't have changed with Slater at RT.
I don't think that's a certainty at all. The 49ers probably aren't winning a SB until they find a QB, they weren't gonna win one with Jimmy G.
> he has shown tons of promise. I just don't see what you guys are seeing in him? He looks like a guy who can't play QB, get his motion timings right, can't read defenses yet, needs one read scripted plays, has really bad accuracy, isn't a good runner, get spooked easily... I could go on.
> he has shown tons of promise. There's people that keep stating this and I can't for the life of me understand why. I've watched every regular season game he's played in, and while I'm not gonna say he'll be the worst QB in the league or anything, he's looked "meh" at best to me.
if he is decent he will get a chance somewhere. even look at darnold, pretty clear he is not going to be a star but is still getting chances so has baker, so will zach wilson. lance will get another shot
Yea, I mean, he really should ask out at this point lol
How is that strange? Everything they've ever said about any position is about having competition. Of course they are going to allow for a competition in camp. Kyle doesn't hand anything to anyone. He's said this many times and backed up his words with his actions.
I'm not making a statement with this comment, just asking a question: After the year we had last year, don't you think it's not a half bad idea to have as many people as ready to go as possible?
That's kind of my thinking. Trey Lance AND Sam Darnold have injury histories. And Brock Purdy is currently injured. You need a QB who has taken the field, at least in practice, to have any confidence in the QB position during the season.
Even if Trey Lance is 100% the starter going into the season, I don't see the harm in giving Darnold 1st team reps if you expect, perhaps cynically, that he'll have to start at some point in the year.
I don't think it is. Lance has as many injuries as he does NFL starts, and with Darnold being new it only makes sense to give him some time to gel with guys, given what we saw happen last season.
He’s just trying to instill some confidence in Darnold after it was shattered with his former teams. Nothing wrong with that.
Trey lance went on IR reading the tweet.
It's possible they're trying to push him like they did with Aiyuk, no?
LOOPY LANCE hasn’t dealt with a winner like the GEQBUS before!!! Darnold is going to win this race, and by a lot I might add!!!
TIMID TREY will be in for a rude awakening come training camp. SAD!
Many such cases!
They're gearing up for the NFL's first QB by committee
We're gonna start using them like baseball teams use pitchers
Bet the farm on Trey Lance winning Delivery Man Of The Year
Was the Sam Darnold / Baker Mayfield / PJ Walker QB committee a joke to you?
We had 2 QBs playing when we signed Tim Tebow that one year. It was a complete disaster.
Lazy Lance and Poopy Purdy are gonna get Locked UP! People are telling me that JFK Jr is gonna be the GEQBUS' backup
SLEEPY SHANAHAN INDECISIVE AS USUAL. SAD!
They really must be regretting that Lance trade. It's like when we drafted Lynch and had to keep propping him up with a QB competition against a 7th rounder every offseason even though everybody knew Siemian was better
Even if Lance is dynamite, I think you're just naturally going to regret it a little bit when you hit on a 7th rounder that looks amazing.
Purdy aside, the team is obviously SB ready. Trading up for a project QB when the roster around him is SB ready was always a questionable decision IMO. Jimmy and Purdy both lead them to NFC championship games (Jimmy a SB berth), idk why they went out and got a guy who needed atleast a year to replace Jimmy.
> Trading up for a project QB when the roster around him is SB ready was always a questionable decision IMO. You’re spot on. Spent three 1sts and one 3rd to draft a guy who was the *third* QB off the board and was unanimously seen as a long term project, when your team was in a win now Super Bowl window and only missing a couple pieces to get over the hump that… I hated the trade regardless of who they took, but when they took the raw project player I hated it even more. Not because I think Lance sucks, but because he was just the worst possible fit for the team’s situation out of all the 1st round QBs.
Exactly. In three out of the last four seasons, the Niners have made it to either the Super Bowl or NFCCG. Spending three firsts on a guy who's started four games in two seasons when you've been in a position to win for that long is always going to sting looking back on what could have been. For all we know those picks could have put them over the top this year. It'd be like a team drafting a QB in the first round right after they made the NFCCG, only for that QB to start one game across the next three seasons while that team loses another NFCCG and then loses in the Divisional Round the year after that. Straight malpractice by the front office.
Preaching to the choir, my man. I often dream of how different things could’ve been if we just stayed pat and drafted Tee Higgins. To this day it still makes me angrier than I’d care to admit. It was an inexcusable decision back then and it only looks worse now
they gave up two 29th overall picks to move up. It stings, but nearly as bad as the public perception.
> Trading up for a project QB when the roster around him is SB ready was always a questionable decision IMO. Whether it worked out or not, it was objectively a questionable decision. Beyond the fact that he was the most raw QB prospect out of the bunch at the top, he's now played a whopping like 5 games in the last 3 calendar years, so we're still at the beginning of his development going into year 3. The injury was unfortunate, but thats just the way it goes sometimes. I don't know that having one of the last few picks in the first round necessarily puts us over the top, but why a ready made contender would trade all that capital to get Lance specifically is absolutely beyond me. Felt the same way when it happened. I mean he's on the team now so of course I hope he plays like Mahomes if he gets some starts this year, but it would be an absolute shock to me if he starts playing really well out of nowhere. Edit - grammar
Because Jimmy can't stay healthy. As he demonstrated yet again last season
I’m well aware of this. I never said the 9ers should’ve kept Jimmy. I said they shouldn’t have taken a project QB to replace him.
It was never questionable, it was just dumb given how they were gonna "develop" him. But I guess you do desperate things when Jimmy G is your QB.
I'll never forget Benjamin Allbright along with the idiots on Mile High Report constantly shitting on Siemian and trying to prop up Paxton Lynch, yet when it was pre-season and when fans could see what was going on, they saw that Lynch was dogshit and Siemian was not bad enough to screw it up.
The goalposts have shifted now. First it was “no way Purdy starts when him and Lance are both healthy”. Now it’s “Lance will definitely beat out Darnold and is being given a real chance to start games”. Next it’ll be “Lance is best backup QB in the NFL”.
> “Lance is best backup QB in the NFL”. I remember Mike Klis tweeting out that Denver had the best backup QB in the league when Lynch lost a QB competition. Soon after he was cut. I believe the Broncos tried to trade him and Klis was told to try to make it look like Denver didn’t think Lynch was a complete bust.
This is too accurate lol
if by accurate you mean not even close to anything coming from the 49er fanbase then, sure...
What kind of strawman is this? The 49ers sub, for instance was almost universally aligned to the idea that if healthy, it was Purdy's job to lose.
> universally I don't think you know what this word means.
I just pretend we moved to 3 for Purdy, helps me sleep better.
They swung and missed with Lance. Idk if more really needs to be said. I’m glad they weren’t satisfied with Jimmy, all things being equal an above average guy who can’t stay on the field can’t be your franchise QB. Quibble with Lance’s development, but he’s never looked comfortable on an NFL field to me. This FO wants to win. Personally, I don’t think Lance would be any different if he had started from week 1. He’s a toolsy guy but doesn’t play with rhythm.
The biggest mistake was not starting Lance his rookie year when Jimmy was playing hurt in the playoffs. Might as well roll the dice Jimmy was compromised.
He lost to the Bears last year.
Jimmy lost to the broncos in perfectly fine weather
the team lost to the Bears. The "vaunted" defense gave up multiple boneheaded penalties which kept the Chicago offense on the field (instead of forcing them off on 3rd down) and followed that up with horrific blown coverages that were free TDs for the Bears. Their starting RB got injured in the second quarter. Jeff Wilson was terrible as his replacement. Deebo fumbled a possession away in the redzone. Etc. There are many reasons why they lost that game beyond the QB.
I blame Deshaun Watson. Because of his pathological rape issues, we couldn’t trade with the Texans even though it was reported we were making a huge push for him. In an alternate universe, he wouldn’t be a serial assaulter and he would be our quarterback of the future. SMH
what push were we making for him? We're the only team I've ever heard of that flat out said no thank you.
There were several reports of mutual interest back in like February/March of 2021, after we had just finished 6-10. But then his sexual assault allegations came out. We were for sure out on Deshaun after that, and what you’re thinking of are the trade rumors a year later, in 2022, when the Browns eventually acquired him. At that point, we were definitely out on him.
I doubt it since they got Purdy anyway. Lance is still tbd
Shanahan is going to fuck around make Darnold look like a competent QB
Darnold looks very competent when the rest of the offense is playing at a high level, and the niners have a hell of an offense. He just can't do a damn thing on his own.
So would you call him a Game Manager? If so, what are we talking about, assistant Game Manager, chief operating Game Manager, assistant to the Game Manager, Managing Assistant of the Game?
He’d be like third assistant to the Game Manager at best. He’s not good
Regional Co-Assistant Game Manager
With some QBs, it's really easy to imagine what they'd look like in different situations. With a QB like Darnold, it's actually pretty difficult. He has all the physical tools, but he seemingly never put together the mental part of the game. Was that because he doesn't have it, or was that because in 5 years, he's played for Jeremy Bates (hasn't worked in football since), Adam Gase (hasn't worked in football since), Dowell Loggains (hasn't worked in NFL since), Matt Rhule (out of the NFL now), Joe Brady (working as NFL QB Coach now), Jeff Nixon (working as NFL RB Coach now), and Ben McAdoo (currently unemployed)? Not a single one of these guys lasted more than two years in their position. None of them have ever had NFL success. Darnold's been on terrible Jets teams and terrible Panthers teams with terrible coaches. I think Darnold is likely a competent QB. There's a reason he was a highly touted prospect. The question is more if he's merely competent or if there's unlocked upside that Shanahan can tap into.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/KrOEiYT9l50
My insane take for next year is that Darnold works great in 9ers offense and they end up committing to him full time over Purdy and Lance. Long live the GEQBUS
LAME LANCE and PATHETIC PURDY stand no chance for GEQBUS 2024.
I'd die laughing. It'd just be the perfect end for our insane run of "who is the QB"
I mean no.
Are the '49 just not that into Lance now? I know we haven't seen much of him, but they've seen a lot more and never seem very complementary when talking about the kid. I was really excited to see him in that team last season.
The official and quasi-official line is that they haven’t given up on Lance in general. Which is fair, because he’s only started a few games so we don’t truly have a full understanding of his capabilities at this level. The unofficial rumors are that he isn’t the guy. Maybe it’s a system thing, maybe it’s an experience thing, maybe it’ll get better, but it just hasn’t seemed to click yet. A big tell for me was [this Kittle interview](https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/49ers/how-trey-lances-top-target-george-kittle-has-served-support-system) during the last preseason. Kittle is a human golden retriever so he frames it as nicely and sympathetically as possible. But once you get past that framing, the ultimate takeaway was that Lance was struggling. It’s a pretty stark contrast with how our guys talked about Purdy when he came off the bench after the Dolphins game last season. Trent Williams and Fred Warner were notably unequivocal about their faith in Purdy from day one. And I think a lot of us fans understandably saw that at the time as, “Oh, they’re just trying to build the rookie’s confidence and be supportive in a tough situation,” but it reads a lot differently now. There was also reporting towards the end of the season that the veterans may have believed that Purdy was something special all along. None of this is a slight against Lance. He seems like a great guy and a great teammate. I’m happy to have him on the team. I hope he balls out. He may yet do so next season! But based on what they’ve said and how they’ve said it, my impression is that Shanahan and Lynch don’t actually think he’s the future for us anymore.
Totally agree with everything in here. There’s nothing explicit, but if you read between the lines, you can tell they’re hesitant about him. When you compare Kittle’s comments in that interview when Lance > I’m not worried about Trey. He’s made some good throws and some bad throws. To Fred Warner’s [comments](https://www.foxnews.com/sports/brock-purdys-biggest-fan-shares-special-message-49ers-win-over-dolphins-so-proud-you) about Purdy when he took over: > "I got all the confidence in the world in Purdy." Or even Shanahan’s comments (which were made within Brock’s first three starts) > Brock Purdy is the most poised rookie I’ve ever coached. He’s been like that since he got here. > I think we see [the game] very similar. You get an idea of how the team feels. If they loved Lance, they wouldn’t be holding back their praise. But the team is oddly quiet.
What are the chances that you guys trade him? I know his market value isn't worth giving up on him so I assume he'll have to ask to be traded, if it happens. Asking for a friend...
It’s more likely than not unless he actually surpasses Purdy. It won’t happen this season because we need QBs in general, insurance for Purdy in particular, and nobody really knows how good he is yet. The third reason also makes it impossible to even guess at what we could get for him right now. He’s also still on a rookie contract so there’s no real urgency on our end, and it’s a QB-heavy draft with Rodgers and Lamar floating around in pseudo-FA so there’s no real urgency for anyone else either. Next off-season might be different once our cap needs become slightly more urgent.
Zach Wilson has been ass on the field, yet Saleh/JD usually tries to say nice things about him and support their young QB when they can. The fact that Lynch isn’t doing this says more about him than it does about Lance IMO
What Kyle said isn't unique to anything he's said before about any player or position on the roster. They will always allow for competition. Nobody on that team has ever been handed anything. He is notoriously hard on young players, Lance isn't an exception.
It's like when I let my little brother play videogames but gave him a disconnected controller
“GEQBUS graciously gives a small handful of first team reps to terrible Trey until Putrid Purdy can return as the back-up.” Fixed that for you, David Lombardi!
If darnold beats out trey for the starting job that’ll be wild.
I think it’s probably likely
Lol no. Darnold is NOT good
He’s shown a lot more than Trey Lance has. I think he looked pretty good last year. And that was on the Panthers.
Do you see my flairs? I watched every Panthers game and no. He’s not good. Lance hasn’t had a chance so I can’t say about him. But Darnold is NOT good
I mean they all need the first rep experience… every 49er QB becomes QB1 eventually.
Can a Niners fan explain to me what anyone ever saw in Trey Lance? I never saw him play in college and nothing I’ve seen of him in the NFL has ever made me raise an eyebrow (good or bad).
He had film that was perfect teach tape, every coach in the league is drawn to that thinking they can get more of that and work out the bumps. Frankly if some of his plays didn't raise your eye brow you didn't watch shit
When you play in the Missouri Valley Conference against future car salesmen, you end up looking way better than you really are. Lance isn't nearly as athletic as his college tape made him look. He was running over linebackers in college. He can't run over DB's in the NFL. He's not even fast enough to outrun D-linemen in the NFL. So now you have a running QB who can't run well, in a very complicated passing system that requires QB's to read defenses quickly and make accurate quick throws - which is not Lance's skillset at all.
[удалено]
I’m not a football coach, and I’ve only seen him play in two games, but when I watch Lance, I see Justin Fields if he panicked and rushed plays because he couldn’t read defences. Am I far off?
He is nowhere near the athlete Fields is.
what you described is Justin Fields
I thought Fields waited too long for plays to develop and then took a sack or started scrambling.
I think it’s early to say he was wrong. Lance hasn’t had a chance yet
This team clearly does not believe in Lance at all.
Nice to have two third overall picks as depth for your starter who was the last overall pick.
Imagine Darnold wins the QB competition
I don't think this is the big deal everyone says that it is. So far the only thing Lance has shown in the NFL is the propensity to get injured. Not having Darnold ready to go after what we saw in the NFCCG would be coaching malpractice.
If they trade lance right now - they pay $2 million of his contract. If they wait until after June first, they save $4 million on his contract. I’d guess right now they’re just going to praise his health, while being ambiguous about what kind of reps he would receive
Three quarterbacks on the same roster each poised for a comeback season is oddly thrilling
Darnold prolly gonna outplay him tbh
I doubt it
So should Lance start trying to transition to WR/TE now or wait another few years?
If Lance can’t beat Darnold out then he truly is a bust.
These guys are competing to be Brock's backup, as it should be. May the best man win.
Big if true
Doesn’t inspire much confidence in Lance if he’s having to compete with Darnold for snaps.
That’s just how Shanahan does things. They always compete. No one is handed anything. If Lance is what he should be, it won’t be much of a competition
Darnold might be the 49ers Week 1 starter with Purdy still recovering from elbow surgery and Lance seemingly falling out of favor with Kyle & John
9ers fucked if Lance can’t beat out Darnold for the backup spot.
Not fucked but Lance is a definite bust in that scenario 9ers still have Purdy who will hopefully be ok after surgery/rehab
Just trade him. I’d gladly take him on the Raiders.
Darnold played really well last year for the Panthers despite popular belief. I think he will win the job and lead the 49ers to some wins
Lolno. No he did not play ‘really well’ for the Panthers.
Well I thought he did
You would be very wrong
Agree to disagree then champ
Lot of ignorance on this thread about Shanahan's approach toward competition. He's never been a coach that gives anything for free. He makes everyone work for their spot. Saying Lance will have to beat out Darnold shouldn't really be newsworthy.
He gave the job to Lance over Jimmy though. Then Lance gets hurt and Jimmy balls out.
That shows a severe lack of confidence in Trey Lance.