Recovering from a major injury often is a lonely process. For 49ers second-year quarterback Trey Lance, however, he had a strong support system comprised of teammates to help him.
Speaking with the NFL Network's Mike Yam on Wednesday, Lance shared how the 49ers rallied around him after his season-ending ankle injury and which teammate he grew closest to during arguably the worst period of his professional career.
"For me personally, Elijah Mitchell has been a huge supporter of me," Lance told Yam. "So being able to just be with him in the training room, I would give all the love and all the shoutouts to him for everything he's done for me, whether it's sending me a text in the morning just because he understood how hard it was."
Lance spent time with Mitchell in the training room as the latter had two MCL injuries during the 2022 NFL season, which sidelined him for an extended period of time. It was there that the 22-year-old bonded with Mitchell through.
"How hard that process was, whether it was in the playoffs of the beginning of my injury or the beginning of the season, just not being able to be truly a part of it, that was the hard part for me," Lance continued. "But yeah, having those guys around, having their support, meant everything to me."
Mitchell has been a steady presence for Lance throughout the year, as the latter explained on Feb. 4 to NBC Sports Bay Area's Jennifer Lee Chan. Despite missing almost the entirety of the season, Lance understands things are going to be different moving forward.
"It wasn't hard for me to keep going or anything like that," Lance told Chan. "That's my only option, so it was never really hard mentally from that standpoint as people would think.
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"It's hard every year. This year I have a better understanding that it won't be the same."
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As Lance and the 49ers head into the offseason with a myriad of questions regarding who the team's starting quarterback will be, Lance undoubtedly will be ready for whatever comes next.
And he could not have done it without the help of Mitchell and his teammates.