GM John Lynch: 49ers 'really believe' Trey Lance will become 'a really good player'

If the San Francisco 49ers are seriously considering holding onto veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo for another season, as some have suggested, or are engaged in off-the-record talks with Tom Brady about ending his retirement so he can orchestrate a move from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to his favorite childhood club, then general manager John Lynch deserves tons of praise for his "poker face" during interviews and press obligations. 

It was roughly two months ago when Lynch told reporters he was "more excited" about 2021 rookie Trey Lance than "when we drafted him." As David Bonilla noted for 49ers WebZone, Lynch sat down with Keiana Martin of the team's website at the NFL Scouting Combine for an interview published on Wednesday and again offered high praise of the young man who, by all accounts, will soon be his QB1. 

"The most important thing is that the rookie quarterback becomes a really good player because then that allows you to fully take advantage of that," Lynch said when discussing the sport's most important position and San Francisco's salary-cap situation. "That's where we think we're going with Trey, and we really believe that." 

During his debut pro campaign, Lance completed 41-of-71 passes (57.7%) for 603 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions and the 21-year-old added 168 yards and a score on 38 rushing attempts. 

Lynch said last week that "a lot of teams have interest" in Garoppolo, and that was before the 30-year-old was linked with the Indianapolis Colts following their trade of Carson Wentz to the Washington Commanders that was reported on Wednesday.