Even in our noisy contemporary world where no catch is too hot, no instant reaction, and no opinion too exaggerated for polite society, no one can argue that Trey Lance doesn’t have the potential to be the franchise quarterback. that the 49ers were hoping for. he would be when they spent three first-round picks to get him. Of course, you don’t know until you know. And if he was a publicly traded company, I might not invest all my savings in his future. But I wouldn’t mind knowing that my mutual funds own shares of him.
Then again, as Ned Stark said, “Anything before the word ‘but’ is bullshit.” But …the Niners have given us plenty of reason to believe they aren’t sold on Lance. At least not yet. It’s not at all unreasonable to assume that John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan have reservations. Starting with the fact that they gave Lance a rookie apprenticeship, which is pretty much unheard of in the modern NFL. Then there’s the fact that they brought Jimmy Garoppolo back, rather than trading him for whatever they could get or just giving him his outright release. What Lance wouldn’t have liked at all:
You’d think that if Lance lived up to expectations, they wouldn’t feel the need to have Jimmy G standing over his shoulder in a sideline cap as opposed to, say, Brock Purdy. (Note: what Chris Berman could have done in the 1990s with a name like that.) If you’re really invested in a guy enough to spend all that capital to bring him in to replace the quarterback who got you taken to a Super Bowl and a conference title game, you usually show the confidence to not let the replaced QB be your insurance policy. As Captain Ramius told the Red October crew, “When Cortez reached the New World, he burned his ships. To keep his men motivated.”
Which brings me to the latest vote of distrust from the Niners. Which, in this case, was literally a vote:
Pro Football Talk – Trey Lance had to wait to become the 49ers’ starting quarterback. He will have to wait to become team captain.
The 49ers named defensive lineman Arik Armstead, defensive end Nick Bosa, tight end George Kittle, safety Jimmie Ward, linebacker Fred Warner and tackle Trent Williams as captains for 2022. Lance finished seventh in the of the vote, coach Kyle Shanahan said, and the 49ers had seven captains each of the past two seasons.
It’s rare for a quarterback not to be a team captain, with the Seahawks and Browns also not having a quarterback elected captain for this season.
Shanahan explained Lance’s absence as being a full-time, first-time starter.
A few points on this. First, the reason the Seahawks and Browns haven’t given their starting quarterbacks captains is that the latter is suspended for being a serial Cosby, and the first is Geno Smith.
Second, even if you argue that being captain is a meaningless title, then you are arguing against yourself. If that means nothing, why wouldn’t Shanahan throw a bone at the guy he’s invested so heavily in by tapping the “C” on the shoulder. If for no other reason than that tells the rest of the group – as well as the roster – “He’s the guy in charge. Follow him.” This “C” doesn’t just stand for “Captain”, it stands for “Marching Rooster”.
Third, the fact that Shanahan decided to go with just six members of his Justice League after Lance finished seventh in the ballot is suspicious.
Finally, if that says a lot about the fact that Shanahan wouldn’t put a seventh seat at his table in the Hall of Justice, what does it say that after a year of being on this list, the teammates of Lance got him seventh by voting? With all due respect to the six that made the cut, when your QB1 can’t at least hold the medal, that says a lot through a megaphone.
There was a lot of smoke last year when Tua Tagovailoa didn’t get the “C” in Miami, because that’s important. And this year, he was the highest-voting Dolphins. Mac Jones didn’t get it as a rookie as he had the starting job for about 15 minutes. He has it now and will never give it up. Lance has been the Niners’ presumptive franchise player since they drafted him. And the fact that his coach and teammates haven’t deemed him worthy – along with Jimmy G’s continued presence on the roster – only adds to the suspicion that they just don’t think he’s ready to go. direct them. Stay tuned.
