With Jimmy Garoppolo off to the Raiders and rookie seventh-round selection Brock Purdy impressing under center last season for the 49ers, much has been made about the future of Trey Lance, the starter who broke his ankle in Week 2 and missed the rest of the season.
Decision-making has been further complicated by the health of Purdy, who tore the UCL in his elbow in the NFC title game and underwent offseason surgery to address the injury.
Even so, there has been plenty of speculation about the Niners shopping Lance after the way Purdy played down the stretch of the regular season and into the playoffs.
“Yeah, I think there’s a lot of smoke really,” general manager John Lynch said. “It hasn’t been extremely active, and it’s not like we’ve put it out there that, ‘Hey, we’re taking offer for Trey. Call 1-800 to,’ that’s not been the process. People’s job in this is to ask questions. Has that happened on a couple occasions? Sure. It hasn’t been that substantive and like I said, we’re focused on Trey and his ability to compete and play an integral role on this team. Last year we needed five and so we value every single one of those guys. And we’re excited about our group. We really are.”
So does that mean Lance won’t be dealt and could be the team’s starting quarterback once again?
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“I expect Trey to be here and we’re excited about Trey’s ability to compete and what he can do for our franchise just as we were when we drafted Trey,” Lynch said. “And I think the only thing that’s changed this offseason is that Trey’s gone and got himself healthy. He was injured last year. He’s done a really good job of doing that. He’s done some different things in terms of his training this offseason. He’s very encouraged by that. And we’ll see when we get an opportunity to get out there on the field with him, but we have every reason to be encouraged as well.”
The 49ers already signed veteran Sam Darnold to a contract this offseason, and he is expected to compete in the quarterback room as well. Darnold is likely a clear No. 2 option behind either Lance or Purdy, or potentially a No. 3 if the 49ers decide to keep Lance.
Lance is certain to have some trade value if he’s healthy considering that he’s a former No. 3 pick who has only thrown 102 passes in the NFL. Since he’s spent one full season as a backup, and another as a starter before getting injured very early in the season, the jury is still very much out on what he can be.
Regardless of what Lynch says publicly, San Francisco will certainly keep its options open heading into the NFL draft later this week.
