49ers' Kyle Juszczyk responds to Trey Lance reputation chatter

San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk wants everyone to know he and his teammates remain big fans of young quarterback Trey Lance.

"Trey is beloved in our locker room," Juszczyk recently told the "Haberman and Middlekauff" podcast, as shared by David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone. 

Peter Panacy of Fansided was among those who mentioned this past spring that 49ers stars George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey were spotted at a Golden State Warriors playoff game along with new signal-caller Sam Darnold not long after Darnold signed with San Francisco as a free agent. Add in that Darnold stayed at a pool house owned by Kittle as presumed starter Brock Purdy continued his recovery from a serious elbow injury, and some assumed Lance is already the odd man out in the eyes of those associated with the 49ers.

Juszczyk insisted that isn't the case. 

"Everybody loves Trey," Juszczyk continued. "The dude really does work his a-- off. He's super personable. He is a very well-liked guy. So for whatever reason that he wasn't at the basketball game, it's not because we don't like him."

While Purdy reportedly is on track to start the 49ers' regular-season opener at the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 10, he hasn't yet been cleared to face live defenses coming off the surgery he had on March 10 to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. Back in June, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter said he believed Darnold "has the edge" going into training camp to win the No. 2 job and start over Lance if Purdy isn't available by Week 1. 

Juszczyk isn't the only noteworthy San Francisco player to speak highly of Lance since springtime practices ended. Both Kittle and Deebo Samuel noted the 2021 first-round draft pick "took steps forward" and showed "significant" improvement this offseason compared to where he was a year ago, and it's thought head coach Kyle Shanahan will give Lance every chance to defeat Darnold in a summer competition considering there was little trade market regarding the 23-year-old's services across the first six months of 2023.