We didn’t see too much of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance during his 2021 rookie campaign, but that is expected to change in a big way in 2022.
He played just 178 offensive snaps, appearing in six games and starting two. It was a much smaller sample size than the four other first-round quarterbacks from last year’s draft class.
ESPN’s Booger McFarland sounds very concerned about Lance headed into his first full year as a starter.
“Of all the rookie quarterbacks last year, I am the most concerned about Trey Lance, and that includes Justin Fields,” McFarland said on ESPN’s NFL Live (h/t Alek Arend of The Spun). “I just think, from an injury standpoint, he didn’t prove he can stay healthy. From a quarterback standpoint, I didn’t see enough to say, ‘You know what? We can build around X, Y, Z.’”
Lance entered the season with a finger injury. In addition, he suffered a knee sprain during his first start.
“I know Marcus [Spears] loves the athletic component,” McFarland continued. “He’s built physically, but those attributes got him hurt this year. I am terribly concerned about him, but if he doesn’t pan out, Kyle Shanahan and/or John Lynch won’t have a job because they went to Jed York and 49ers ownership and said, ‘Hey, this is our guy.’ So, he has to pan out. But I am truly, truly concerned about Trey Lance.”
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It’s not a matter of if, but when the team part ways with last year’s starting quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, ushering in the Lance era in Santa Clara. The 21-year-old entered the league having started just 17 games during his collegiate career and playing in just one game in the 15 months leading to the draft.
Released footage seems to suggest he is more than ready.
