San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance. Daniel Bartel-USA TODAY Sports

Colin Cowherd defends Trey Lance comments amid backlash

Before reports surfaced Monday claiming that some within both the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers organizations believe the Niners are a better team with veteran Jimmy Garoppolo as their starting quarterback over second-year option Trey Lance, Fox Sports personality Colin Cowherd voiced a similar take that was shared via social media shortly after Lance suffered a season-ending broken ankle during San Francisco's 27-7 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.

As Liam McKeone noted for The Big Lead, some quickly criticized Cowherd for offering such a take less than 24 hours after Lance went down with a gruesome setback that required him to have surgery on Monday. Cowherd defended his Sunday comments during Tuesday's edition of "The Herd with Colin Cowherd" program. 

"It's not my job for you to be ready to hear the truth," Cowherd explained. "I'm going to give you the truth, and if you're not ready for it, that is a you problem. If someone passed away and I thought they were a horrible person, I'd talk about it the next morning. 'Well, it's not the time or the place.' Well, they were a bad person, they're no longer here, I have to talk about it, I'm going to do it on my terms for my show and fill the segment. I'm not going to wait 11 days until you've had therapy to get over it. 49er fans: get over it. The team's better with Garoppolo than Trey Lance ... I'm not here to wait for you to be able to handle that news." 

Before his injury on Sunday, Lance completed 15-of-31 passes (48.4%) for 194 yards with no touchdowns and an interception across his two September appearances as San Francisco's QB1. The 22-year-old also rushed for 67 yards on 16 carries. 

Garoppolo came off the bench against Seattle and connected on 13-of-21 throws for 154 yards and a touchdown. The 30-year-old who has started two conference championship games and a Super Bowl while with his current employer also added a rushing score versus the Seahawks. 

The 1-1 49ers next play at the 1-1 Denver Broncos this coming Sunday night. 

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