Those associated with the San Francisco 49ers apparently never even considered hosting a quarterback competition at any time this spring or summer.
2021 rookie Trey Lance served as QB1 throughout off-season training as veteran Jimmy Garoppolo recovered from shoulder surgery in March and general manager John Lynch attempted to trade the signalman 30 years before his base salary for 2022 is guaranteed. Neither team offered anything noteworthy for Garoppolo’s services, and he eventually took a pay cut to stay with the 49ers as a backup.
Even though Lance is cemented atop the depth chart ahead of Sunday’s regular season opener at the Chicago Bears, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan revealed Wednesday that the 22-year-old is not part of of the six players named team captains. According to 49ers WebZone’s David Bonilla, Shanahan said Lance finished seventh in spot voting.
“I just didn’t want to put seven on it,” Shanahan remarked. “Deebo (Samuel) was eight. … We just wanted to go with six. They don’t allow eight in the draw, I don’t believe. there aren’t a lot of rookies that end up being captains. I know it’s his second year, but he’s a rookie for us, his first time as our starting quarterback.
Lance attempted just 71 passes in his first NFL regular season. He completed 41 of those throws for 603 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions.
The second-year professional also spoke to members of the media on Wednesday and admitted being a captain is one of his goals for the future. He added that he “voted for every one of these guys” named captain.
