49ers Name Trey Lance the Starter Against the Cardinals

Kyle Shanahan made the announcement official Friday at his presser along with ruling out Jimmy Garoppolo with a calf injury.

There it is.

The 49ers have named Trey Lance as the starter against the Cardinals.

Kyle Shanahan made the announcement official Friday at his presser along with ruling out Jimmy Garoppolo with a calf injury.

It was always a longshot for Garoppolo after missing Wednesday and Thursday practice. Now after missing practice on Friday, that was the nail in the coffin for any potential of him starting in Week 5.

The 49ers will be starting a rookie at quarterback for the first time since C.J. Beathard in 2017. And while it is exciting to see how Lance will fair on Sunday, he will likely be without George Kittle. There is a doubtful designation for Kittle going into Week 5, and while it isn't impossible for him to play, it is very rare that doubtful players end up active. Even if he is active, he probably would be in a limited capacity. Losing him certainly hurts Lance's capability as a passer, but this will be Shanahan's job to make up for that and make it easy on Lance.

This is a critical game for Lance. In order for his development to continue, he has to play. That means he has to look promising against the Cardinals. Otherwise, Shanahan will have no qualms about making the switch back to Garoppolo. 

"Our starting quarterback is hurt," Shanahan said. "If he had been one-hundred percent, we would've gone with him."

Shanahan is still entrenched with his stubbornness of Garoppolo. But all it takes is a solid performance from Lance that could sway his mind.