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Barring any major surprise in the offseason, the San Francisco 49ers will hand over the starting quarterback job to Trey Lance, which veteran linebacker Fred Warner much has an eye on.
Even amid much speculation heading into the 2021 season that the 49ers would opt to name Lance as their starting quarterback, they once again went with Jimmy Garoppolo to anchor the offense. Lance wound up earning a mere two starts in the campaign, and he totaled for 71 pass attempts in six games played.
Even as Lance did not have a bulk of snaps to work with in the season, Warner believes that the campaign was vital to the rookie’s development, which he touched on to Pro Football Focus’ “The Richard Sherman Podcast” show.
“I'm really happy with what they did in terms of his plan; let him sit behind Jimmy, learn the offense, learn the system, learn how to be a pro,” Warner said. “He didn't play college football for a year, played at North Dakota State. I think he has a handful of games that he's even played at the college level.”
Whether in the preseason or on a weekly basis in practice, Warner had a front-row seat to watch Lance’s prowess as a quarterback and overall potential. During the season, he noted that the passer has a “bright future” because “we see it every day in practice on our side because he’s out there dicing us up.”
Months removed from the conclusion of the season, Warner looks back at Lance’s rookie campaign pleased with the growth that the former North Dakota State passer made.
“He's as mature as they come,” Warner said. “He's got the right mindset. He didn't come in with this cocky arrogance, like, ‘I'm [the No. 3 overall] pick. I'm this. I'm that.' He knew exactly where he stood.
“He came in, he was hungry to learn, had a thirst for learning… [He] even [asked] defensive players, even myself, how to be a pro, and how to compete, and all this kind of stuff… I think as his confidence continued to grow throughout the year, you started to see those ‘Wow' moments that we all talk about in the practices.”
All eyes sure will be on Lance come the start of training camp and preseason.
