⏩ Trey will play: Shanahan says rookie QB Lance will see the field this season.
Kyle Shanahan said Friday that 49ers rookie quarterback Trey Lance, currently the backup to Jimmy Garoppolo, will play this season.
And as soon as the 49ers head coach said that aloud, he knew it would create a social media stir.
“Trey’s going to play for us this year — I know you guys are all running to Twitter on that,” Shanahan said. “But I mean, situationally, he’s going to get plays. That doesn’t mean he’s going to go start or anything, but he’s going to get plays. We’ve got to prepare for that in any way possible.”
Shanahan’s statement marked the first time he’d acknowledged what had been widely assumed: The 49ers, at the very least, will have a package of plays for Lance that take advantage of his mobility. Lance has had at least five zoneread runs in each practice for the past week of training camp
and he pitched to wide receiver Deebo Samuel on an option in Friday’s session. Lance could be prominent in the red zone, where the 49ers have ranked 20th or lower in touchdown percentage in each of the past three seasons.
“Every receiver who makes our team is going to play this year. I know it’s different, but when you have quarterbacks who have different skill sets, it kind of makes it easier for me to look at it
similar to other positions,” Shanahan said. “And that’s why I don’t think it’s a problem on our team. And it’s not a problem when we’re discussing what we want to do” on the field.
Shanahan reiterated that the 49ers were in a situation with Garoppolo and Lance “where I don’t see them competing.” However, his tone has shifted when it comes to Lance receiving firstteam snaps in training camp. On Monday, he said he hadn’t “planned at all” when asked if Lance would receive snaps with the firststring soon. On Tuesday, Lance did have a designed run on his lone snap with the first team during camp.
“Trey will get reps with ones and stuff,” Shanahan said Friday. “That doesn’t mean the competition’s open. That means I want him to get some reps with (starting) Oline, with the receivers.”
Lance, who had completed 20 of 22 passes in the previous two practices, had a more uneven session Friday. He lost two fumbles on zoneread exchanges with running back Wayne Gallman and completed 8 of 13 throws, primarily connecting on short attempts. Lance threw four consecutive incompletions to end practice.