Okay it’s pretty much official now, Trey Lance WILL see playing time for the San Francisco 49ers in 2021 – the only question now is WHEN?
Despite already having Jimmy Garoppolo on an expensive long-term contract, the Niners were clearly not happy with their QB situation in the offseason.
San Francisco even checked out the possibility of a trade for reigning league MVP Aaron Rodgers before finally settling on North Dakota State signal caller Lance with the third overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft.
The Niners had to spend draft capital to go up to #3 and get Lance, showing if proof were needed that he will be their man going forward.
Online sportsbooks have been betting on who will start the season opener for San Francisco in Detroit on September 12.
Jimmy G favorite to start Week 1
Garoppolo – still nominally the starter – is currently trading at -278 while Lance has been available at odds of +300. Unless Trey does something pretty horrible in preseason, the odds are he will get the nod sooner rather than later.
Without committing himself to a time frame, head coach Kyle Shanahan pretty much admitted as much earlier this week when he spoke with media.
“Trey’s going to play for us this year. I know you guys are all running to Twitter on that.
“Situationally, he’s going to get plays. That doesn’t mean that he’s going to be the starter or anything, but he’s going to get plays and you’ve got to prepare him for that every way possible.”
49ers built to win now
The Niners finished 6-10 in 2020, but that was despite a horrific run of injuries which left the team decimated. This included an ankle injury for Garoppolo. The former Patriot’s injury history is a concern clearly for Shanahan – he missed most of 2018 with a torn ACL.
The urgency to find a franchise QB is real, with the 49ers having a quality roster which is built to contend for a return to the Super Bowl.
San Francisco is best odds of +1500 with Unibet to win it all in SoFi Stadium next February, and +200 with FOX Bet to rule in a stacked NFC West division which might be the best in the NFL.