The 49ers’ hotly-contested backup quarterback competition ended abruptly. It appeared Trey Lance and Sam Darnold were relatively even heading into the final week of the preseason. Head coach Kyle Shanahan thought otherwise.
Shanahan on Wednesday told KNBR radio in San Francisco that the competition was very tight between Darnold and Lance, which raised a question about why he pulled the plug on the competition the week before the final preseason game.
He gave an explanation Friday in his press conference after the preseason finale.
“Because I knew it,” Shanahan said. “I thought it would take longer. I wanted to go through this game, but I knew it. And I think a lot of guys knew it. I think (Lance) had an idea. It was more about my relationship with Trey that, you know I’m meetings with him every day and stuff, I’m the field with him every day, and I could get a sense that he was starting to feel that we felt that way. And it was the truth, and I didn’t wanna BS him. So, once we knew and I could tell he knew that we knew – I remember the night before I realized, ‘I’m gonna come in in the morning and tell him. I don’t want that between us.’ So, I did.
“Didn’t expect it to get out right away, but it did. But that was something I thought I owed to Trey and I told Trey right before a team meeting that we had. I didn’t get a chance to tell Sam or anyone else on the team. That was just a personal thing between Trey and I, and it obviously got out, but that’s why I thought it was important to tell him.”
The most interesting thing here is not that Shanahan told Lance early. Giving a player that respect to be open with him about his status on the depth chart makes a lot of sense.
What doesn’t make much sense is that Darnold had so dramatically separated himself that the battle was over before the last preseason game. Lance needed reps, and if he’d gone out and looked vastly improved in Friday’s game it surely would have at least given the coaching staff something to think about.
But maybe that was the goal. Thinking is not the goal. Pulling the plug on the QB competition just eliminated the chance for doubt to creep in. Shanahan decided Darnold won the competition and didn’t want anything to infringe on that thought process during the final preseason game, and doing so ended the QB battle and Lance’s tenure in a 49ers uniform.
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