San Francisco 49ers

Trey Lance is 49ers’ 'great unknown' Colin Cowherd says

Updated Aug. 21, 2022 7:06 p.m. ET

Trey Lance continues to face challenges as he gears up for his new role as the San Francisco 49ers' starting quarterback this season.

Judging from various reports, the second-year QB has experienced a fair share of highs and lows in training camp. Head coach Kyle Shanahan has been supportive of Lance while noting that he has had "some real good days" and "a couple rough days" thus far.

On Thursday's "The Herd," Colin Cowherd explained why the Niners should be concerned despite having what he believes could be a title-contending team.

"The Niners have a Super Bowl roster and a Super Bowl head coach," Cowherd said. "I do not believe they have an accurate enough distributor of the football. … I was told six weeks ago that the Niners contacted somebody outside of the building — a quarterback consultant. They were still concerned.

Lance having a "couple of rough days" at 49ers camp

Colin Cowherd explains why the 49ers should be concerned about Trey Lance as their starting QB this season.

"Day-to-day, you don't know what you're gonna get. … I think San Francisco is a top-five roster, I think they have a top-five coach, but it is kinda make-or-break on this young quarterback. … Even the college he went to was a power-run offense. It was not quarterback-centric. How [are] they gonna do? I don't know, but the season [is] down to [Lance]."

Lance went 1-1 in two starts last season, completing 59% of his passes. He appeared in six games overall, connecting on 57.7% of his attempts for 603 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions.

In 2019, his lone full season as a starter at North Dakota State, Lance guided his team to the FCS title. He finished that campaign completing 66.9% of his 287 attempts for 28 touchdowns and an NCAA-record zero interceptions. He added 1,100 rushing yards and 14 scores on the ground.

Lance was set to start again in 2020, but NDSU's season was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He soon began preparing for the 2021 NFL Draft, in which he was selected third overall.

"Since his final year in college, 2020, Trey Lance has 101 pass attempts," Cowherd noted. "He is raw, he has not played a lot. I looked at the Niners' schedule this morning. In over half their games, they're not shutting teams down."