On Wednesday San Francisco 49er head coach Kyle Shanahan made the announcement that free agent acquisition Sam Darnold had won the competition to be the team’s backup quarterback to starter Brock Purdy.
That means 2021 No. 3 overall pick Trey Lance has now been relegated to the No. 3 quarterback, which on most teams would mean he’d be traded if the team can find the right trade partner.
In retrospect, Lance as the No. 3 quarterback isn’t all that surprising. When the team added Darnold, and with Purdy coming off a great season, the belief was Darnold was brought in to be the backup. Now, with that official, the Niners have to figure out what to do with Lance, whom the team traded up to get in the 2021 NFL draft. GM John Lynch says it’s highly plausible that the former North Dakota State star stays put.
Lance To Be Third-String? Needs An Exit Strategy
Being the No. 3 looks daunting, but let’s not forget the Niners started Lance, who was injured for the season. That moved Jimmy Garoppolo into the starting spot until he was lost for the season as well. The aforementioned Purdy, who was the No. 3 quarterback, led the team to the NFC Championship Game.
So, not all hope for Lance on the 49ers is lost. Speaking to KNBR Radio in San Francisco on Thursday Lynch sounded as if Lance will be with the team for the foreseeable future.
“That’s the most likely option,” Lynch said. “We’re very happy with Trey. The most likely option is that he’s here. If we can find a landing spot for Trey that is a really good one for him and works for our organization, that’s not something that we’d turn a blind eye to.”
But that’s not where our focus is right now. Our focus is on Trey getting back here and us being the best football team. We’re getting close to Pittsburgh in [Week 1].”
After hearing that he’d be QB No. 3 from Shannahan and Lynch, Lance was excused from practice on Wednesday to clear his head and sort of come to grips with the reality of the situation, which for all intents and purposes isn’t all his fault. The Niners must take the bulk of the blame for this debacle.
Former NFL QB Says Bills’ Success With Josh Allen Tricked Niners
Former NFL journeyman signal-caller Ryan Fitzpatrick gave a valid reason as to why the Niners completely overdrafted for Lance.
Fitz, who played for nine teams from 2005-2021 appeared on “The Pat McAfee Show.”
“I still think there is an opportunity. I think accuracy is his biggest thing. It’s not his fault that he was overdrafted. He got way overdrafted getting picked third. I think people loved his athleticism, they loved how raw he was. Josh Allen coming from a small school, that probably helped a bit.”
Let’s see how this plays out. Lance needs to get out of San Fran, they don’t believe in him, and they still won’t say they dropped the ball.
