PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Coach Kyle Shanahan remained in character on Tuesday at the NFL Annual Meeting.
In keeping with his approach during the 2021 season, Shanahan did not name a starting quarterback. And he does not plan on making a grand announcement any time soon.
While Jimmy Garoppolo remains on the 49ers’ offseason roster, the official transition to Trey Lance has been delayed.
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But that does not mean Lance’s development has been thrown off course, either.
In fact, Lance figures to take all of the first-team snaps during the 49ers’ offseason program -- even if Garoppolo remains on the team for a while.
Garoppolo will be unable to throw a football for approximately three-and-a-half months after undergoing shoulder surgery on March 8.
"Trey is working his tail off," Shanahan said. “He knows how I feel about him. He knows what our expectations are for him, and I think he’s got a lot of respect for Jimmy. But I think the situation is clear.
San Francisco 49ers
“We were trying to make a move to add some draft picks, and I think we were pretty close to it, and Jimmy ended up getting the surgery, which changes things.”
The offseason is not going as the 49ers scripted it.
If all had gone according to the team’s hopes, Garoppolo would not have required surgery; he would have been traded, and everybody could publicly acknowledge Lance as the starter.
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Despite the mixed signals being sent about the 49ers’ immediate future at quarterback, Shanahan said he does not believe Lance will be impacted in any negative way.
“I think Trey will understand all that,” Shanahan said. “I haven’t had to talk to him about it, but I think it makes sense to all these guys. Trey is not an insecure guy.
“This situation makes sense, so there’s nothing sneaky going on about it. He’s confident. He’s going to come in and focus on playing football, focus on beating out whoever he has to, whether it’s (Jimmy), whether it’s Nate (Sudfeld). He’s going to come in and be the best he can be.”