The San Francisco 49ers used a lot of draft capital to trade up and draft Trey Lance third overall. With that in mind, you’d expect them to want to get the young quarterback on the field as soon as possible.
49ers CEO Jed York, however, floated the possibility of Lance sitting behind Jimmy Garoppolo for two years before getting the chance to start.
“We’ve talked about this internally,” York said on 49ers Talk, via Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports. “If we’re in a situation where Jimmy goes out and takes us to a Super Bowl again and has an MVP-caliber season, and does it again, there are worse dilemmas to be in. And Jimmy certainly has the ability to do that.
“Knowing it’s the most important position in sports, and it’s great to have a guy that you do believe in and has gotten you to a Super Bowl. So you don’t have to put the weight of the world on a rookie, whoever it was we were going to choose. And now that we know Trey is here, you don’t have to put the weight of the world on that kid’s shoulders. And he can grow into that position.”
York’s “no pressure” message is probably appreciated, but many will want to see Lance before two years are up. To be fair, it’s less of a guarantee and more of a best-case scenario for Garoppolo at this point.
Garoppolo seems unconcerned by Lance’s arrival. Maybe he’s confident that he can do his part to ensure that this is exactly what happens.
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