At first, the idea of Kyle Shanahan rotating quarterbacks this season seemed like the 49ers' coach was playing with fire.
Swapping Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance in and out, series-by-series, would only zap both quarterbacks of their rhythm and lead to discombobulation and losses.
But that's not how it played out Sunday in Detroit in the 49ers' 41-33 win. Garoppolo threw for 314 yards and one touchdown while Lance took just four snaps, including tossing a 5-yard TD pass on his only throw of the day. Perhaps Lance only saw the field for four snaps because the 49ers didn't need him to beat a team that's expected to be among the worst in the NFL. Perhaps it was that Lance missed a week of practice with a small finger fracture.
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Or perhaps this is just how Shanahan plans to play it. The offense will be mostly Garoppolo's with Lance coming in ala Taysom Hill with the New Orleans Saints on key third downs and in the red zone.
Either way, Garoppolo is cool with how the QB rotation is being orchestrated.
“I mean, the concern was just as a quarterback, you’re used to being the guy,” Garoppolo told the MMQB's Albert Breer on Sunday. “It’s a little bit of where you don’t want to be a distraction to everyone else, at least that was my thought, just with having two of us like that. It’s one of those things, like I said, where you’re checking your ego at the door and just playing ball at the end of the day.”
Garoppolo admitted he had his reservations about the rotation idea, but no longer believes it will take him out of his rhythm.
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“If it was series by series, which I think when we were talking, that was kinda what the thought was, that really would’ve been more the rhythm thing,” Garoppolo told Breer. “Because that was in the discussions for a little bit and I was like, ‘You know, I don’t know how that’s gonna work, just being out for that long and not throwing.’ Switching off like how we’re doing it, it’s different. The rhythm thing doesn’t matter as much—one or two plays isn’t too bad.”
Garoppolo has faith in Shanahan and understands that Lance provides something that can help this 49ers team win. He understands that situationally he will come out, and he has made his peace with that.
“Throughout the week, you try to plan as well as you can,” he said. “But just situationally, you never know what Kyle’s feeling or what he’s gonna call, what he was setting up on the prior play. I think just throughout the week, you kinda get a feel for it. Short yardage, things like that, you kinda have a good idea of what’s gonna happen. I don’t know, it’s just one of those things that you gotta check your ego at the door, really.
“That’s what it really comes down to. And it’s tough as a quarterback but it is what it is.”
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It has only been one game, but the 49ers' QB "rotation" turned out to just be a few situational plays for Lance. The rookie is sure to get more snaps as the season goes on and he gets more integrated into the offense.
But this is Garoppolo's offense. He is the most comfortable in it that he has ever been, and he is fine trotting off the field a handful of times a game for the betterment of the team.
Garoppolo was crisp and efficient Sunday, Lance found the end zone and the 49ers left the Motor City with a win. All is well as the 49ers head into Week 2.