San Francisco 49ers

Trey Lance's readiness to start for 49ers in question

Published Feb. 19, 2022 11:36 a.m. ET

There will likely be a new quarterback under center in San Francisco to start the 2022 season, but the 49ers aren't rushing into anything.

Trey Lance — the third overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft — is expected to replace veteran Jimmy Garoppolo, and on Friday's "The Herd," Colin Cowherd broke down the most recent chatter surrounding the soon-to-be sophomore QB.

"Positioning is very, very important for professional teams," he said. "Stuff gets out to the press if teams want it out. I do think it's rather interesting that in the last couple of weeks, 49er legends Joe Montana and Steve Young both have come out and said, ‘Trey Lance is not ready.’ That's interesting.

"Where are they hearing that from? Why are they saying that? Certainly coincidental. Montana is not a fire starter, neither is Steve Young. … San Francisco knows today — they know right now — if Trey Lance is gonna be great. Physically, emotionally, intellectually, can he handle it? They know it right now. … Folks, he's been there for 150-plus practices, played in six games, two starts, been in the film room now for a year."

Montana revealed that be thinks the 49ers' plan for the future is not necessarily the correct one in an interview with "The Ringer."

"I think they should keep Jimmy until they find somebody that helps," Montana said. "I don't think Trey is ready to play yet. As myself and after talking to some of the players, it's one of those things that if you can keep Jimmy healthy, he plays well enough to get you [deep in the playoffs]."

Like Montana, Young also has questions around the readiness of Lance to take over in San Francisco.

"Now Trey Lance, we don’t know, and Trey doesn’t know. If Trey was ready, Trey would have played," Young told TKB. "Trey needs to get ready this offseason. This needs to be the biggest boot camp ever in history, to get him ready to be expansive. … We’ve got to get him ready, and we’ve got six months to do it."

While former San Fran legends might have skepticism, the team's current stars are all in on the 21-year-old.

All-Pro tight end George Kittle recently praised the "freak athlete" when speaking with Cowherd shortly after Deebo Samuel, the 49ers' star wide receiver, shared why he's certain Lance will be "a superstar in this league."

The Niners went 9-7 in games Garoppolo started in the 2021 regular season, while going 1-1 with Lance. In his two professional starts, Lance threw for 441 yards, two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions.