49ers' George Kittle discusses improvement of Trey Lance amid uncertainty
San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle once again insisted quarterback Trey Lance showed improvement throughout springtime workouts.
"Trey has been great," Kittle said of Lance during an appearance on the NBC Sports Bay Area Podcast Network, as shared by David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone. "I think he took steps forward in the (organized team activities). It's really fun when you start connecting on plays that you might have struggled [with] in the past, and that's something that we did at OTAs a couple of times, so that was fun. Got to get a lot of extra work in with them."
Kittle noted earlier this month that Lance "had some great reps at OTAs" as the 2021 first-round draft pick attempts to impress head coach Kyle Shanahan while competing with free-agency signing Sam Darnold.
There was speculation ahead of this year's draft that the 49ers fielded calls about Lance's availability and possibly discussed his future with at least the Minnesota Vikings, but ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter said last week that "there was no trade market" for the 23-year-old this offseason.
Lance has thrown just 102 total regular-season passes across the past two campaigns and is coming off a season-ending ankle injury he suffered in September.
Schefter told "The Pat McAfee Show" last Wednesday he believes Darnold "has the edge" over Lance ahead of training camp as it pertains to potentially starting the Week 1 game at the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 10 if 2022 rookie sensation Brock Purdy isn't cleared in time to participate in that matchup.
Purdy is recovering from elbow surgery he had in March.
Both Lance and Darnold threw at the recent edition of "Tight End University" that also featured Kittle. Kittle explained he'd like to build chemistry with Lance similar to what Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce enjoy.
"So just having that opportunity to sit down and talk with Trey, watch film with him, and having this event, too, because Trey sat next to me through our meetings," Kittle added. "For him to be able to watch guys talk about routes and stuff like that, to see how other tight ends are talking about it, he learns stuff from that, too. So it's just a fun opportunity for him."
The fact the 49ers are already being linked with a possible future move for current Vikings starter Kirk Cousins if Purdy fails to repeat his successes from last season suggests San Francisco doesn't view Lance as a long-term answer at the position.
Lance theoretically could give Shanahan and company something to think about if he flips a figurative switch as soon as during the preseason opener at the Las Vegas Raiders on Aug. 13.
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