It certainly appears that the Trey Lance era has begun in San Francisco.
After the 49ers lost to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game at SoFi Stadium, it was clear that Jimmy Garoppolo's tenure with the team was coming to an end. Just two days after their season ended, Garoppolo said his goodbyes, signaling that he will likely be traded this offseason, although the team has not officially confirmed.
Waiting in the wing is rookie quarterback Trey Lance, whom San Francisco selected with the No. 3 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Having sat behind Garoppolo the entire season, except for two games where the rookie started in place of the injured veteran, Lance will enter the 2022 season prepared to take over as the starting quarterback.
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Lance joined Andrew Siciliano and Hall of Famer Michael Irvin on NFL Network on Thursday morning where he stressed the importance of the reps he received in his rookie season, even though he played the role of a backup for most of the year.
"I think there's nothing like reps, real live reps," Lance said. "Game reps, even practice reps. I think every rep I get, every throw I make, you definitely learn from it. But our coaching staff, and Jimmy, did an awesome job, I thought, throughout the year of finding different ways to implement me in[to games] early in the year, especially. And throughout the year, just finding ways for me to learn from Jimmy. His playing style obviously being a little bit different than mine, I think that benefitted me a lot also."
Even though he was not starting, Lance got to experience a deep playoff run in his rookie season with the 49ers. After losing to the Rams just 11 days ago, he and the team will use that heartbreaking loss as motivation for next season.
"Walking off the field after the NFC Championship Game is hard," Lance added. "The guys in our quarterback room, the guys on our team, we've got a special team and a real close-knit group of guys. It was hard, definitely, but it just made me more hungry."
San Francisco 49ers
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The 49ers will not commit to Lance as the starter as long as Garoppolo remains on the roster. Until the trade is inevitably made, the 21-year-old will prepare as if he'll be starting Week 1 next season.
"I'm going to be ready to go Week 1 without a doubt," Lance said. "I'm super excited for the opportunity, I feel like I learned a lot and will continue to learn. But excited to get it going again."