How the 49ers have Mistreated Trey Lance
The 49ers spent outrageous draft capital on the raw talent in Trey Lance and have given up on him for Sam Darnold, and the reasons don’t add up.
Kyle Shanahan announced that Trey Lance will not be the backup, and is sticking it out with Sam Darnold at QB2.
Trey Lance was drafted 3rd in the 2021 NFL Draft after the Niners traded away three first round picks to the Dolphins in order for them to move up from pick 12. Typically when you draft a QB in the top 3 of the Draft, you're desperate to find the franchise guy. Over recent seasons we’ve watched that happen to guys like Trevor Lawrence, Joe Burrow and even Zach Wilson. Each one of these cases is different, but the one similarity is that each of them were given a chance to lead the team. They were given multiple games to develop and come to understand the NFL game. Lance hasn’t received any of that. If anything, he has received the worst treatment of a top-round QB in years.
In 2022, Lance was given his chance, he was announced as the starting QB. After his second game, he suffered a terrible ankle fracture that took him out the rest of the year. We all know what began to happen after that, the Brock Purdy Show came to town. Purdy had an incredible year, after being named Mr. Irrelevant, he led the Niners on a massive winning streak that was unexpected by everyone. He was given his opportunity and took it by the horns.
Kyle Shanahan came into the 2023 Training Camp not naming a starting QB. Everyone assumed it was going to be a QB battle to see who would earn the key to the Niners offense, but as the process began it seemed unfair from the beginning. On Day 1, Lance had to watch the new QB take his first team snaps while Brock Purdy was still recovering from injury. Something seemed off, especially with Darnold showing no promise in his first few days of camp. Meanwhile, Lance was performing in training camp, trying to get Shanahan's attention to no avail. Shanahan seemingly wouldn’t acknowledge Lance’s success in practice and was clearly focused on Darnold, whom he compared to legendary QB Steve Young.
So what happened to Lance? According to Diana Rossini from the Athletic, the Niners have been looking at trades for Lance for much of the offseason. The pieces finally added up, Shanahan didn’t care for Lance and wanted him out. After giving up three first round picks and getting three legitimate starts at QB, the door was closed on Lance and was opened for Sam Darnold. Darnold was given so much first team experience, throwing to names such as George Kittle, Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk. Meanwhile Trey Lance was throwing to names such as Chris Conley, Tay Martin and Cameron Latu. See a difference?
Why didn’t we see this coming? Because throughout time we’ve been told that the Niners are one of the best teams in the leagues at developing QBs. I don’t believe that reputation can remain. The fans have gotten to watch Shanahan screw over Lance, lower his value and give him no chance to succeed. He was barely given quality reps in preseason games at all. Players like Kellen Mond have received more time to grow than Trey Lance. Mond was drafted in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft, and has thrown more than 50 passes every preseason since he was drafted. Lance was given no consistency comparable to that. In his first preseason, he got to throw 41 passes, then 16 the next season, and finally 33 this year.
Lance has been held back from the beginning due to bad QB development and coaching, and now he’s bound to look at new opportunities in the future. Shanahan even laid it out in his KNBR interview following his announcement, “If there’s a better situation that his heart’s in and something like that, we’re gonna make sure not to do something that hurts him in that way.” That certainly sounds like a roadmap for Lance. Find a team that wants him and get traded to them.
Expect to see Lance officially request a trade in the coming weeks, if he hasn’t already, and expect him to be upset if the 49ers don’t move him.
Instead of Shanahan keeping the guy he drafted who has two years left on his deal, he decided to go with the guy on a one-year deal who will want more money next year. What a waste of draft capital that could’ve made the Niners Super Bowl winners instead of mere contenders.
