San Francisco’s future plans for Trey Lance after Jimmy Garoppolo leads them to playoffs
As the San Francisco 49ers take on the Dallas Cowboys in the wild card round, Jimmy Garoppolo will be acting through pain after torn thumb ligaments and fractured a bone a few weeks ago. It could be his last game as a San Francisco quarterback.
As NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport explained, the 49ers plan to move Trey Lance, their first-round pick from the 2021 draft, into the starting position next year, replacing 30-year-old Garoppolo.
“To my knowledge, the 49ers are still looking to pick Trey Lance as their starter in the first round, which means they will likely be exploring trade options for Garoppolo. And for his part, he seems to be really enjoying it and enjoying this moment.”
Going on from Garoppolo could be difficult at first. He’s a consistent option behind centre, although not a standout. He helped lead a strong offense thanks to stars Deebo Samuel and George Kittle. However, Lance has the potential to develop into more than Garoppolo is at the moment. San Francisco makes the smart move to get Lance up and running after a year of being owned by Jimmy G.
It’s a tough break for Garoppolo, who overcame injury to help the 49ers get into the playoffs. He admitted he’s been thinking about his future with the team and now it seems imminent that these playoffs will be his final drive.
While the fate of San Francisco’s season weighs on Garoppolo’s performance against a stingy Dallas defense, the state of the franchise’s future weighs the balance of Lance’s skills.