Just two seasons after winning the NFC, the San Francisco 49ers thought they struck gold with Trey Lance. So much so that they traded three first-round NFL Draft picks to select him in 2021. Lance was the big-armed, mobile quarterback San Francisco believed would take the team across the finish line when — not if — it qualified for another Super Bowl.
Alas, the best-laid plans of overzealous football coaches and executives often go awry.
The 49ers named Sam Darnold their No. 2 quarterback, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported Wednesday. A key distinction: Darnold will not be Lance’s backup. He’ll be Brock Purdy’s backup — the former Mr. Irrelevant that head coach Kyle Shanahan recently said would need to literally melt in practice to lose the starting job. And so, the 49ers may have seemingly made Lance available for a trade, essentially giving him less time to develop than the throwaway last-pick-of-the-draft they’re choosing to start.
For an organization that likes to think of itself as forward-thinking, it’s only gone backward by prematurely pulling the plug on Lance.
The #49ers are naming Sam Darnold their No. 2 quarterback and the team is exploring options with Trey Lance, sources tell me and @RapSheet.
Darnold will back up Brock Purdy, while the future of Lance — the No. 3 overall pick in 2021 — is unclear. pic.twitter.com/HxXQkfM6nq
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 23, 2023
It’s easy to understand why the 49ers have elected to roll with Purdy. Their roster, rife with All-Pros on both sides of the ball, is ready to win now. These 49ers have qualified for three of the last four NFC title games and are on the doorstep of the franchise’s first Super Bowl championship since 1994. As much as the 49ers could use a genuine difference-making quarterback, they also technically can’t afford to wait for someone like Lance to grow into the role.
NFL championship windows do not last forever. Frankly, it’s remarkable the 49ers are still standing as a marquee team with rightful expectations of making another deep run into January. As such, they can’t waste a golden opportunity to win by waiting for a young player who may or may never be ready to shine.
On the flip side, San Francisco’s dealings with Lance scream of a horrific process. And they’re synonymous with everything that’s held the organization back as it chases championship glory and falls flat on its face every winter. The entire reason the 49ers even traded multiple first-round selections for Lance was that they wanted a quarterback who could rescue their talented roster when it had its back up against the wall. They desired to have a quarterback who could maximize a core of Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, George Kittle, and (now) Christian McCaffrey. It was never a guarantee Lance would become that player for them — he was a huge project coming out of college — but there was no doubt he had more ability than Jimmy Garoppolo, the passer who cost San Francisco a win in Super Bowl 54.
All the 49ers had to do was give Lance a legitimate chance. Even after a redshirt rookie season and a sophomore campaign shortened by a broken ankle, they owed it to themselves to help Lance acclimate this offseason. They owed it to themselves not to punt what was very clearly a long-term plan built around a Brinks truck of a draft haul the moment another player looked semi-competent in their offense. Instead of quickly anointing Purdy, they should’ve had an actual competition for their starting quarterback job. But Lance was buried on the depth chart from the jump — especially after Darnold’s addition — fighting uphill to impress a team already preparing to move on from him.
None of this is to denigrate Purdy and what he achieved as San Francisco’s starter in 2022. But any somewhat capable quarterback who can deliver the ball quickly and make basic reads can stay above water in Kyle Shanahan’s offense while surrounded by superstar skill players. We saw it with Garoppolo. We saw it with Nick Mullens. We even caught glimpses of it with C.J. Beathard. Try as the 49ers might state otherwise, Purdy is assuredly no different.
Instead, the 49ers are moving on from Lance after 102 career passing attempts and four whole starts. They’re giving up on the naturally talented guy who could’ve raised their team’s ceiling after mortgaging their future to acquire him in the first place. And after no time at all in NFL years. You have to feel bad for Lance, and you can only scratch your head at the 49ers’ perplexing decision-making.
The 49ers are probably going to make another long playoff run this season. And if they end up losing, again, to an NFC heavyweight with a decidedly superior quarterback in the playoffs, they only have themselves to blame. They’ve made their bed with Purdy, Lance, and even Darnold.
Now, they have to lie in it and accept their game manager reality.
