The 49ers have reached a crossroads with quarterback Trey Lance after he was beat out by Sam Darnold for the backup QB job behind Brock Purdy.
Reports indicated that San Francisco would be exploring all options with Lance, including trading the 2021 No. 3 overall pick, in the aftermath of Darnold winning the backup spot. Head coach Kyle Shanahan in an interview with Adam Copeland and Tom Tolbert on KNBR in San Francisco didn’t sound eager to move on from the QB though, saying he hopes Lance is with the team in Week 1.
“I feel very, very fortunate to have both of them here,” Shanahan said of Darnold and Lance via KNBR. “I really hope when it’s said and done that all three of these guys are here, and you never know when that’s going to come up. We needed four guys last year. It doesn’t happen much, but if we can have Trey as an option here, I would feel extremely happy about that. I think the other quarterbacks in our room would and our team would. Trey is a very well-liked guy and one of the better people I’ve been around, and I do think he’s going to have a lot of success in this league.”
Shanahan and the 49ers may not have much of a choice when it comes to keeping Lance, which means it behooves the head coach to continue very publicly supporting the QB.
Since reports of Darnold winning the backup job surfaced, there’s been no indication that trade talks with any teams have gone anywhere for San Francisco, although the Vikings are a team floated as a potential suitor after the two clubs had talks about a Lance trade during the offseason.
Keeping Lance might ultimately be best for the 49ers in 2023 anyway. If he doesn’t play, they can move him in the offseason. If they do need him to play, he may get the chance to improve that he didn’t get in either of his first two years.
Perhaps a trade materializes, but it doesn’t sound like Shanahan is hurrying to shove Lance out the door just to get him out of the building. And that may be what keeps him around.
