As the San Francisco 49ers face the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card round, Jimmy Garoppolo will play through pain after suffering torn thumb ligament and chipped bone a few weeks ago. It may be his last game as San Francisco's quarterback.

As NFL Network's Ian Rapoport explained, the 49ers are looking to slide Trey Lance, their first-round pick from the 2021 draft, into the starting position next year and move on from the 30-year-old Garoppolo.

“My understanding is that the 49ers are still committed to first-round pick Trey Lance as their starter moving forward, which means they are expected to explore trade options for Garoppolo. And for his part, he really seems to be soaking it in and savoring this moment.”

Moving on from Garoppolo could be tricky at first. He is a steady option behind center, even though he isn't a stellar one. He helped lead a strong offense thanks to stars Deebo Samuel and George Kittle. Lance, though, has the potential to grow into more than Garoppolo is right now. San Francisco is making the smart move to get Lance going after having a year to learn from Jimmy G.

It's a tough break for Garoppolo, who overcame an injury to help the 49ers get into the playoffs. He admitted that he has thought about his future on the team and now it seems imminent that these playoffs will be his last ride.

While the fate of San Francisco's season weighs on Garoppolo's performance against a stingy Dallas defense, the state of the franchise future weighs in the balance of Lance's abilities.