Louis Riddick Says Jim Harbaugh Has Worked His Magic on Trey Lance

Lance was supposed to be the San Francisco 49ers’ new franchise quarterback when he was drafted. But after sitting for most of his rookie season, he broke his ankle just two games into 2022. The injury required season-ending surgery.

After that, Brock Purdy seized the starting job in San Fran, and Lance was sent into the shadow realm. The Dallas Cowboys traded a 4th-round pick for him in 2023, but he only got to throw 41 passes in scattered appearances over four games.

Now with the Chargers, Lance has somewhat of a clean slate to work with. He’s 25 and has gained plenty of experience when it comes to understanding a playbook. Maybe Harbaugh can work his magic and turn him into the second coming of Colin Kaepernick if Justin Herbert ever goes down.

In the end, though, it’s just the preseason. It’s good to see Lance showing out, but let’s not forget he once made headlines for throwing 5 interceptions in a preseason game. But, again, it’s the preseason, and it’s hard to take much away from these games. Lance was throwing against second- and third-stringers at best.

Furthermore, Lance is a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency option. He’s not even listed as the next man up behind Herbert on the depth chart, with Taylor Heinicke currently holding the QB2 spot. That leaves Lance to sit as the QB3 while his career continues to circle the drain.