Trey Lance outshines Jimmy Garoppolo for third straight practice. Is change coming?
The last play of Wednesday’s 49ers training camp practice was one of the most telling of camp for rookie quarterback Trey Lance.
Yes, perhaps more so than the dime Lance threw when the pads came on for the first time Tuesday and he hit his receiver about 50 yards downfield for a long touchdown while rolling to his left.
Wednesday’s play came during full-team drills in the red zone. Lance, going against the second-string defense, helped his unit score touchdowns on the previous three plays. He hit newly converted tight end Jordan Matthews for a short touchdown over the middle after he beat linebacker Marcell Harris in coverage.
Then he used the threat of his legs to hold defensive end Alex Barrett inside on a zone read run before handing the ball to running back Wayne Gallman, who beat the defense to the left pylon for a touchdown. Then he kept a zone read after a fake to JaMycal Hasty for a running score to the left.
But the last play illustrated what makes Lance unique. He dropped back to throw and immediately looked at his favorite target of training camp, second-year receiver Brandon Aiyuk, to his left. Aiyuk was bracketed by two defenders and wasn’t open.
Lance’s eyes moved to the middle of the field, where there was too much congestion. He scanned to the right and saw Nsimba Webster, a reserve receiver and return man, with outside leverage on safety Tony Jefferson, an eight-year veteran.
Lance lofted a fade to the back corner of the end zone, just over Jefferson’s reach where only Webster could get it. He hauled it in and got two feet in bounds, giving the second-team offense four straight touchdowns to end a successful red zone drill.
It was Lance’s final throw of practice, giving him completions on 7 of 8 attempts during 11-on-11 drills. His only incompletion was a deep pass along the right sideline to All-Pro tight end George Kittle that might have been pass interference on rookie safety Talanoa Hufanga.
Lance’s pass was underthrown and Kittle had to wait for it, while Hufanga was in a full sprint to get back to Kittle after he was left open. The two collided as Kittle came back for the pass. Kittle said afterward he thought the rookie should have been called for defensive pass interference.
“I got punched in the face,” Kittle said afterward. “I didn’t even need to sell it.”
Suffice to say, it marked the third straight practice in Lance was more productive than starter Jimmy Garoppolo, who completed 6 of 11 throws in full-team drills while the starting offense scored one touchdown on four red-zone snaps. The caveat, of course, is Garoppolo is practicing against the first-string defense, and the calendar says it’s early August.
It’s becoming clear, regardless of how head coach Kyle Shanahan paints the situation to the media, that Lance is positioning himself to compete with Garoppolo for the starting job sooner rather than later. That’s apparent in Lance’s ability to his deep throws down field, like on long completions to Kittle and Ross Dwelley he had earlier in practice.
And the more you hear people talk about Lance inside the building, the more believable Lance unseating Garoppolo becomes.
“There’s an element of confidence that is unique,” offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel said after practice. “I wouldn’t say he’s loud or boisterous. He has a confident swag that I think really appeals to players. He knows the pressure that’s on him like any other player. So he really is really comfortable in his own skin, I’d say, and he’s getting to a point where he can correct other players.
“Which, from a coach’s perspective is all you’re looking for. You want a coach on the field. The person that a receiver is going to listen to, much more than a coach, is the guy that’s throwing him the ball. He’s been very good with that and I think a lot of the guys respond to that.”
Defensive tackle D.J. Jones was asked if defenders watch Lance as closely as the media do during practice.
“I think everybody’s eyes are locked on him,” Jones said. “He’s special.”
Kittle was a little more tempered when asked if he thought Lance was ready to compete with Garoppolo for the starting job (Shanahan has reiterated he doesn’t believe the two are competing just yet, nor is Lance ready for first-team reps beyond the one running play he had on Tuesday, Shanahan said).
“Yes and no,” Kittle said. “He’s out there competing like we’re all out there competing. Do I think that he would go out there and play at a high level? Yeah. I believe in all my teammates. I think no matter what quarterback we put in, they’re going to play at a high level. That’s just my opinion. I’ll hype up all my guys.
“When I was a rookie, I was pretty bad. I made a lot of mistakes. The game moves way faster than you think it does. Practice is one thing and when you get out on actual field and compete against other people, it’s a totally different speed. I know he’s going to need reps before anything happens, or he could prove me completely wrong whenever he gets a chance. He could go out there and be the best football player on the field, which is what I hope happens.
“I hope he plays at an incredibly high level. I mean, I don’t know. It’s on coach Shanahan and John Lynch. It’s up to them.”
Practice notes
▪ Receiver Deebo Samuel returned to practice after being given Tuesday off because of groin soreness.
▪ Defensive ends Nick Bosa and Samson Ebukam did not participate. Bosa was given a routine maintenance day while he works back from last September’s ACL tear while Ebukam is dealing with lower body soreness.
▪ Defensive lineman Arik Armstead had a strong start to practice with a stop of running back Trey Sermon behind the line of scrimmage and then a sack of Garoppolo on consecutive snaps.
▪ Colton McKivitz worked with the starters at right guard, joining Daniel Brunskill and Tom Compton as options there. Rookie second-round pick Aaron Banks continued his work with the second team.
This story was originally published August 4, 2021 at 2:32 PM.
