Trey Lance’s uneven performances muddy 49ers’ QB situation. How long until he starts?
Parsing Kyle Shanahan’s postgame news conference after Sunday night’s 15-10 preseason win against the Chargers, there were not-so-subtle clues about where things are going with his eventual quarterback decision.
“Our guys better get used to it,” Shanahan said regarding the velocity Lance puts on his passes.
Shanahan also noted, “Trey can’t get enough two-minute drives before the regular season starts.”
Those quotes, along with Shanahan’s declaration from earlier this month that Lance will at least play situationally this season, point to what’s been obvious since Shanahan invested three first-round picks in the North Dakota State alum back in the spring: Lance is going to play, perhaps early in the season, while Jimmy Garoppolo keeps the seat warm until Lance is ready to take over as the starter.
That’s always been Shanahan’s preferred destination. He didn’t draft Lance to sit all year while he watches Garoppolo struggle to extend plays with his legs or make the occasional bad throw that leads to a turnover. Barring a drastic and unforeseen evolution, Garoppolo is a known quantity.
Shanahan on Sunday night said things haven’t changed all that much in his mind when it came to his quarterback dynamic. Garoppolo still holds the starting job, for now, but that could change.
After admitting that, San Francisco’s fifth-year coach was asked if he would name his Week 1 starter, exactly three weeks before taking on the Detroit Lions to open the season.
“No, I’m not making that announcement,” he said, noting he would do it, “whenever I feel like it.”
That could be news, depending on your perspective.
Who will start Week 1?
Shanahan doesn’t have to name a starter three weeks out when there’s a realistic, albeit small, chance Lance improves over the next 21 days to beat Garoppolo out. Or it could be simple gamesmanship in not giving the Lions’ defense a signal about which quarterback they should prepare to face.
It could also be Shanahan challenging both his quarterbacks to keep improving.
“I think he knows us and knows how to push guys in certain ways, I guess you could say,” Garoppolo said. “But there are so many other things to worry about. I’ll let the chips fall where they may type of thing.”
Now it’s about the journey for Shanahan and how long takes for Lance to get there. The latest chapter of that journey was another up-and-down performance from the rookie that showcased Lance’s eye-popping talent mixed with the rawness that could make keeping Garoppolo necessary until Lance proves he’s ready to lead a playoff team.
Lance’s second game Sunday was similar to his exhibition debut last week against the Chiefs.
Only instead of starting out hot like he did against Kansas City before cooling, the rookie was initially shaky before settling in during his six series under center. He orchestrated a pair of touchdown drives against L.A.’s defense that was missing top stars in safety Derwin James and pass rusher Joey Bosa. The touchdowns came after three drives that were hardly inspiring.
Lance’s evening began by completing just 1 of 6 passes for 9 yards (coming on his first throw of the game to Deebo Samuel) and an interception. From there, he completed 7 of 8 for 93 yards with a pair of touchdowns. He also used his legs for the first time in game action on an 8-yard scramble and a would-be 2-point conversion run that was negated by a holding call.
Garoppolo’s night
His 8-for-14 showing came after Garoppolo hit three of six passes on a long, 15-play drive that ended with an interception to rookie defensive back Asante Samuel Jr., who also picked Garoppolo during a joint practice between the two teams Thursday.
Garoppolo on a third-and-long had his top receiver, Brandon Aiyuk, open toward the middle of the field on an in-breaking route for a first down. The throw was high and toward two defenders. Aiyuk couldn’t haul in the pass and it fell right to Samuel.
“I gotta get it down,” Garoppolo said on the accuracy of his pass. “No doubt.”
Lance’s interception came on a similar play. He was looking for veteran receiver Mohamed Sanu over the middle, only the pass was a touch high and hard. It clanked of Sanu’s hands and right to defensive back Tevaughn Campbell.
Lance said after the game he thought a good throw would have set Sanu up for a long third-down conversion and yards after the catch.
“And if I throw Mo a better ball, he probably scores on that play, on his birthday,” Lance said. “So I was frustrated for sure, but at the same time, I learned so much from each of those drives that it was easy to turn the page.”
Lance’s mixed starts
Lance in his two preseason games has completed 13 of 28 passes for 230 yards with an interception, three touchdown passes, six sacks and four turnover worthy plays, according to Pro Football Focus’ tracking.
Which is a mixed bag, to say the least, which is what Shanahan thought he’d see from Lance coming into training camp.
“I think it’s pretty close to what you think,” Shanahan said.
“Trey runs the ball a lot too and you’re not going to do that stuff in a preseason game. So you put him in a situation where you’re practicing stuff that he hasn’t totally majored in and hasn’t done a ton of, which makes it a lot harder for him. But I think that’s a good thing about these games. It think he’s a tough enough person mentally that no matter how it goes, I think he can improve from all of it.”
Lance has fundamental things to work on. Occasionally he throws high and inaccurately. Sometimes he loses his footwork causing his lower body to go a different direction from where he’s trying to throw.
“I guess my mind set is more once I make a mistake, I try not to make it again,” Lance said. “That’s kind of how I remember and that’s the best way for me to learn.”
In between some of those flaws come plays that remind you why the team made arguably the biggest trade in its history to acquire Lance.
Like the throw to Travis Benjamin for a 16-yard touchdown in the third quarter. Lance looked left, pulled a safety out of his throwing lane, before firing a dart to Benjamin in the middle of the field with the space he created with his eyes.
“We ended up getting a five-man pressure, which is perfect to throw a through route,” Lance said. “Travis beat his man, was in the right spot and obviously got him the ball.”
There was another well thrown pass deep down field to Trent Sherfield, Lance’s favorite target from training camp, who caught the 80-yard touchdown a week earlier. It led to Lance hitting Sanu for a 5-yard touchdown with 15 seconds left in the first half. Lance took over with 57 seconds remaining in the second quarter and successfully ran a 2-minute drill, which had been an area of concern during recent practices.
What’s interesting about Sunday’s game, which was also true about the Chiefs game, is that it’s arguable whether Lance has improved his chances at wresting the starting job away from Garoppolo or hindered them. Reasonable cases can be made on either side of the discussion.
Because it’s unclear what Lance would look like in a regular season setting with his rushing ability integrated into Shanahan’s game plan, or what Lance would look like playing with the full compliment of starters including star left tackle Trent Williams, All-Pro tight end George Kittle and speedy running back Raheem Mostert, who have been kept on ice throughout the preseason so far. It’s also fair to point out his improved play Sunday came deeper into the game, when fewer defensive starters were on the field.
Lance hasn’t been perfect. No 21-year-old rookies are. But the starting point is promising. Shanahan sees it, Garoppolo feels it, and we all know what’s coming. It’s less about if and more about when Lance becomes the starter.
The two preseason games have just muddied up the time frame.
This story was originally published August 23, 2021 at 7:15 AM.
