When it was announced that Trey Lance had lost the San Francisco 49ers' backup quarterback role to Sam Darnold, many figured we'd seen the last of Lance in a Niners jersey. Head coach Kyle Shanahan has other ideas.

Talking about the Niners' final preseason game on Friday against the Los Angeles Chargers, Shanahan made a curious comment on KNBR radio. “I plan on Trey going in right after Sam.” Shanahan revealed, per the San Francisco Chronicle's Eric Branch.

Normally, a presumed third-string quarterback playing in a preseason game is expected. Hardly a worthy piece of news, really. However, Trey Lance doesn't fit the profile of an average NFL third-string QB. And that's why this situation bears watching.

The 49ers swapped first-round picks and then sent two more first-round picks and a third to the Miami Dolphins in order to draft Lance. Presumably, the team will try to recoup some assets for Lance rather than cut him outright.

In that case, why expose him to further injury by playing him against the Chargers? Lance already has a reputation for being injury-prone. He missed time in both 2021 and 2022 with injuries. That time off obviously hindered his progress, to the point where the 49ers don't even see him as a backup.

Obviously, Shanahan feels that playing Lance is worth the risk. Perhaps the coach feels like a strong performance will tempt another team to offer up something in a trade.

However, it seems like that ship has sailed, and the 49ers will either be stuck with Lance as their 3rd-string quarterback or will cut him outright. Either way, this solidifies the trade up for Lance as one of the worst in NFL history.