Kyle Shanahan on Friday confirmed Trey Lance wouldn’t be redshirting his rookie season. The head coach changed his tune a little regarding the No. 3 pick’s role this year.
After staunchly denying Lance would get reps with the first-team and slow-playing how he’s looked in practice, Shanahan outright said the rookie signal caller would see action even if he doesn’t start.
“Like, you’re just putting in an offense. Guys go out there and play football. I know it sounds cliche, but I mean, the twos in every group are trying to surpass the ones. And I see Trey the same way,” Shanahan said. “Yes, it’s a quarterback position. I mean, everyone is looking at that, but we’re in a situation where I don’t see them competing. I see, you know, Trey’s going to play for us this year. I mean, whether it’s, I know you guys are running to Twitter on that, but I mean that situationally he is going to get plays. Like that doesn’t mean that he’s going to go be a starter anything. He’s going to get plays and you’ve got to prepare him for that every way possible.”
Lance has taken a bulk of his snaps with the backups as he works his way into the offense with his lone first-team snap coming on a run play the club was installing.
Shanahan may not be ready to elevate Lance into a starting role, but there’s a definite adjustment in Shanahan’s message.
Prior to camp he was non-committal on Lance playing in special packages, and was steadfast in the notion that he was the QB2 and would continue to be the QB2. A lot of the message has been about how Lance needs to prove himself before seeing any kind of expanded role.
It appears he’s proving himself with Shanahan’s “Trey’s going to play for us this year,” declaration. It may not be the final step for Lance, but it’s undoubtedly a step, which is notable given the previous caution with which the head coach has proceeded.
The question now is when the next step comes. Perhaps Garoppolo remains atop the depth chart and Lance keeps his role as the QB2. It seemed a few days into camp there was no chance of any other outcome. Friday’s press conference indicates at least a small change in Shanahan’s mindset though with more than a month left until the regular season begins. Given how quickly this change happened, it’s not inconceivable another change comes by Week 1.
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