What the 49ers Said About Trey Lance at Their State of the Franchise

They said something, as opposed to last year when they pretended Lance didn't exist.

Typically, things the 49ers say at their annual State of the Franchise event don't matter, because it's a promotion for season-ticket holders.

But considering the 49ers never actually mentioned Lance at last year's State of the Franchise, it's noteworthy to point out that Kyle Shanahan spoke at length about Lance this year, and Brandon Aiyuk complimented him, too.

Here's what they said.

KYLE SHANAHAN: "You can ask his teammates when they get up here. It's awkward for me to give compliments of guys' personalities, but Trey is a great dude. He's himself. You can tell he was raised well. He treats everyone right. He also has a chip on his shoulder. He likes to compete out there and play ball. And he handles himself the right way. The biggest thing with Trey that people have to realize is he is younger. He has more horsepower inside of him than I think he even knows of. Just from the whole talent, but also what he's made of, how intelligent he is. I think he's going to be able to overcome adversity. I do believe he's going to handle this pressure. It's going to be hard -- that's what the position is. And there are only so many people in this world who have the talent to be put in this spot -- there might be 32 of them. But there definitely aren't 32 who have the talent and who have the stuff inside that allows you to handle that position through the ups and downs. I don't care how good you are, people are going to come after you. You look at people like Peyton Manning who played so much football in his life and what he did his rookie year and how many picks he threw, he was made of the right stuff, and he was able to overcome things. 

"That's what inspires me the most with (Lance). Now, we've got to put him in positions to help him be successful. That's why I love the team around him. I feel as good about our wide receivers as I've felt since we've been here. Our running backs, you guys saw what Elijah (Mitchell) did last year. We've got to get him healthier so he can do it more throughout the year. I think Trey Sermon learned a ton in his rookie year and learned what he needs to improve on. Bringing in Ty Davis-Price will add depth there. Everyone knows we have a pretty good tight end. And yeah, we're missing a couple guys on the O-line that you guys know of, but I still think we have a chance to be better there. It has opened up opportunities for other guys -- not names you guys know, but there are guys that we see that we know can do it. 

"But you really don't know until you get your ass kicked, because that's when it starts. And you're going to. It might be preseason, it might be Week 1, but it's going to happen, and then we'll know if you can play. How do you come to practice on Wednesday? How do you get in a position where that ain't happening again? Some guys are like, 'How do I avoid that?' The guys on our team have the ability. Our quarterback has the ability. A lot of guys you don't know about have the ability. We're going to put them through the ringer during the season, then you find if they can do it for the long haul."

BRANDON AIYUK: "I've seen a whole lot from (Lance), especially since we started this offseason program, seeing how much he has grown, seeing him throw the football, lead in the locker room, connect with guys -- we have a special quarterback."