It makes sense to Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy that the 49ers would deploy quarterback Trey Lance as a threat in the running game.
But when Lance returns for the 2023 NFL season, he has to do his part to limit the risks, Dungy said on "49ers Talk."
In his brief NFL career, Lance has attempted 102 passes. He ran the ball 54 times, many of which coach Kyle Shanahan designed as run plays or read options.
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Lance sustained a fractured right ankle and ligament damage on a read-option play in the 49ers' Week 2 win over the Seattle Seahawks at Levi's Stadium. He underwent season-ending surgery on Monday.
Dungy said he has no problem with Lance's pass-run distribution under Shanahan's direction.
“I think he (Shanahan) used him to Lance’s strengths and tailored the offense that way, and they did things that are hard to defend,” Dungy said. “I think it’s going to be on Trey Lance to learn how to run 54 times and not take 54 hits.
“If he’s going to survive, he’s going to have to learn.”
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Dungy pointed to new Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson, who averaged more than 100 rushing attempts in each of his first four NFL seasons. Wilson played nine full seasons before he missed his first games in 2021.
“Russell Wilson ran a lot as a younger player, and he didn’t get hit an awful lot,” Dungy said. “You got to know when to slide, when to run out of bounds, when the play is over, when to take as much as you can take and not get hit.”
Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen are other dual-threat quarterbacks who can be more diligent about avoiding hits, Dungy said.
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Jackson has twice rushed for more than 1,000 yards, while Allen last season had a career-high 763 rushing yards.
“Running backs don’t survive taking all those hits,” Dungy said. “I think that’s something Trey has to have to learn. But I have no problem with the way they were running the offense.”