Following Trey Lance and the 49ers' 19-10 loss in Week 1 to the Chicago Bears at Solider Field, opinions regarding who should start under center for San Francisco have been flying, with FOX Sports' Colin Cowherd being the latest pundit to share his thoughts.
"You got Jimmy Garoppolo in the bullpen, you have a great roster and a great coach, you guys are struggling to complete passes," Cowherd said on Wednesday's episode of The Herd. "Should we potentially be worried about Trey Lance and moving off him if he can't beat Seattle?"
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Cowherd went on to compare the 22-year-old Lance to former Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow and how their situations are similar.
"We [the Broncos] have a good defense, so do the Niners. We have a coach with experience, so do the Niners. Tebow is a good athlete, so is Trey Lance. Let's just run a different offense," Cowherd said.
Essentially, Cowherd alludes to the fact that Denver played to Tebow's strengths and what worked for him and suggested the 49ers do the same with Lance.
Cowherd supports his claim by explaining that the strategy helped the Broncos reach the playoffs, against an AFC that featured Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Ben Roethlisberger in their primes.
San Francisco 49ers
"Trey Lance is way more talented than Tim Tebow and Shanahan is a better coach, in my opinion than John Fox and this Niner roster is better than that Denver roster," Cowherd continued. "They just came to terms with Tebow. They're like, 'We're not going to make Tebow fit in our system, we're just going to lean into what Tebow can do and do that system."
With the 49ers having a "win-now" roster, Cowherd offered a solution to San Francisco's perceived issues.
"Why not lean into Trey Lance because he's big, strong, and physical, and just say, 'Listen, we're going to throw about 18 times a game, we're going to run him about 12 times a game, we're going to be different and be hard to prepare for," Cowherd explained.
Lastly, Cowherd said that his solution has precedent as Shanahan and Fox have done this before and it could pay off in the end.
"Instead of trying to make the player fit into what you believe the ecosystem of the league, just lean into what he does," Cowherd concluded.
Ever since Sunday's game, the response to Lance's efforts has been all over the place, including former 49ers offensive coordinator Mike Martz, who delivered a scathing review of the 22-year-old's performance and Skip Bayless defending Lance's outing.
RELATED: Simms: 49ers' loss a reality check that Jimmy G is better option
Whatever the case, expect Lance and the 49ers to keep hearing differing opinions until the end of the season, regardless of how they perform.