San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance has been a major topic of discussion in the football world this offseason. The No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft has been a mixed bag during workouts and practice, leading to many people questioning his future with the franchise.
In the opinion of 49ers all-time great Steve Young, Lance is now beginning to press when on the field. He wants to live up to the expectations that are on him as the No. 3 overall pick, but it isn’t helping with his level of performance.
“I think what’s happened is he’s now squeezed, where every throw is a referendum on whether he’s any good or not because he doesn’t have a lot of college or even pro money in the bank,” Young said about Lance during an appearance on San Francisco sports radio station KNBR, per David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone. “Not literal money, but just the ability to kind of go out and play and show people what [he] can do. And so there’s all this expectation and aspiration and fear and anxiety…”
Things have certainly not gone according to plan for Lance yet in his career. He sat behind Jimmy Garoppolo in his rookie season before being given the keys to the offense in 2022.
The North Dakota State product spent the entire offseason preparing to be the team’s starter as the entire offense was revamped to fit his skill set. Unfortunately, his campaign didn’t even last six quarters as he was injured in Week 2 of the season against the Seattle Seahawks.
Finally healthy this offseason, Lance had been taking the first team reps with Brock Purdy recovering from an injury of his own. Purdy, whom the 49ers made Mr. Irrelevant in the 2022 NFL Draft, took over after Lance injured his ankle. He didn’t lose a game until the NFC Championship against the Philadelphia Eagles when he was hurt very early on.
However, Purdy is back at practice and looks in line to be the 49ers’ starter in Week 1. The backup job that many presumed would go to Lance may not even be his anymore. There have been whispers of Sam Darnold winning that job, which Young also commented on.
“And all of a sudden, you’re not free, you’re not relaxed, you’re pressing, and you’re pressing every throw, and all of a sudden, you’re late for a throw, and then you’ll get sacked, and you go down,” Young added about Lance during the interview. “You’re like, ‘Holy crap, how many bad things can happen?’ So you get into a bad spot.”
At this point in time, a change of scenery is what could be best for Lance and the 49ers. The blockbuster trade they pulled off to have the chance to select him has not panned out, as that deal could go down as one of the worst in NFL history.
What Lance is lacking is reps. He needs to be on a team that can focus on giving him as much playing time as possible and developing his skill set. That isn’t something the win-now 49ers are capable of providing him, so making a trade to get back any value that they can makes the most sense.
