SANTA CLARA, Calif. — At the risk of being a prisoner of the moment, the 49ers’ training camp practice on Saturday stood out more than any other in recent memory — at least since Jimmy Garoppolo threw interceptions on five straight attempts a lifetime ago in 2019.
Saturday might marked a turning point in the 49ers’ quarterback situation in the impending battle between Trey Lance and Garoppolo. If it hasn’t already begun, which is what coach Kyle Shanahan might be arguing while he refuses to publicly put wind in the rookie’s sails.
Saturday was the first time Lance’s athleticism was on display in practice. He used his legs both on designed runs and scrambles for the first time in training camp. It happened again during Monday’s session. He was confined to the pocket during the previous three practices, but he’s been let loose as he’s gotten more comfortable.
“It’s been funny because we’ve all been kind of waiting for it,” right tackle Mike McGlinchey said. “I think we ran like three or four read zones which is probably three or four more than we’ve ever done in my four years here. But it’s exciting. Trey’s an exciting football player. He’s an exciting guy.”
Lance’s Saturday practice, against a second-team defense without pads, stood out. He had no problem running away from backup linebackers in the open field while also ripping 20-yard passes to Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk.
Yes, that was against backups in an already depleted secondary. Yes, all the training camp caveats apply here. But Lance’s performance during the first four practices was not one of a rookie trying to feel things out. He’s letting it rip, making a handful of impressive throws each day while making his athleticism even more impressive.
Still, Shanahan isn’t going to crown the rookie his starting quarterback. A few good practices isn’t enough to make Lance a starting quarterback over someone with experience like Garoppolo, even if things feel like they might be trending that direction as Lance continues to practice well. Perhaps strong outings in the preseason will allow Shanahan to get more comfortable talking about Lance’s chances at overtaking Garoppolo for the starting job.
Shanahan on Monday said there are no immediate plans to have Lance get first-team reps. To this point, Lance’s work has come entirely with the second unit, though many of his passes get thrown to starters such as Aiyuk, Samuel and George Kittle.
“There’s always competition,” Shanahan said. “But no, we’re not splitting the reps up, going against the ones and stuff. I thought Trey had one of his better days on Saturday. But that was nothing to move him up there and start talking differently with Jimmy.”
GAROPPOLO UPS AND DOWNS
Lance’s play wasn’t the only notable takeaway from Saturday morning’s session. There was Garoppolo — who played well during the first three practices – throwing interceptions and looking tentative.
Garoppolo’s first interception of camp was a bad one right to All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner, who returned it for a would-be touchdown. Garoppolo after the pick bounced back immediately with two downfield passes.
Then Garoppolo’s bad tendencies started popped back up later in practice. The timing was bad given what Lance was doing with the second string.
Garoppolo had Samuel open on a deep route toward the end zone. When he went to step into the deep pass, which hasn’t been one of Garoppolo’s strengths since entering the NFL, he lost his grip on the ball, causing him to double clutch and allow cornerback Jason Verrett to get back into the play.
Garoppolo re-gathered and threw it anyway. The ball fluttered and Verrett made an easy interception. In the reps following that play, Garoppolo looked tentative, held on to the ball too long and didn’t look like the same confident gunslinger from earlier in the week.
On Monday, Garoppolo’s first throw of red zone drills was also picked by Warner, while Lance’s first three red zone plays of training camp all went for touchdowns: two throws and a designed run. Again, it wasn’t a sequence that’s going to define a quarterback decision, but it might harden the idea that Lance has a real shot the starting job sooner rather than later.
Shanahan began training camp by saying it would be an awfully difficult task for a rookie to come in and unseat Garoppolo. If there’s a takeaway through the first week of training camp, it’s that it can’t be ruled out, no matter what Shanahan says publicly.
“Jimmy’s played too good of football,” Shanahan said, “and he’s too good of a player, and Trey’s trying to learn everything right now and soak it all in, so that’s why I’d be very surprised if he was able to (win the starting job).”
Shanahan has raved about Lance’s fearlessness in his decision making. Even after being inaccurate or too risky on certain throws, Lance’s aggressive nature stood out, particularly for rookies who so often play to avoid mistakes.
“I just like that he keeps firing it,” Shanahan said. “I mean, some are going to be good. Some are going to be bad. But, the more you get reps, the more you get your feet under you, the more you know where you’re going, the more consistent that’ll be.”
EXPERIENCE COULD BE KEY
For now, experience is the clear delineating factor between Garoppolo and Lance. Garoppolo’s been in the system since 2017. He helped the team reach the Super Bowl in 2019 with a B to B-plus season. Some times the 49ers won on the strength of Garoppolo’s right arm (last-second wins in New Orleans and at home against the Rams come to mind).
But the 49ers also went through the postseason without getting great play from Garoppolo during two playoff games. He played well through three quarters of the Super Bowl, though his hesitancy and limitations were apparent in the miserable fourth.
The 49ers didn’t invest three first-round picks in Lance to be closed off from the idea he could take the job away from Garoppolo in Year 1. Particularly if Lance continues to practice well while showing off his dual-threat skill set that made him arguably the highest-upside quarterback in the class.
The lack of high-end competition in college at North Dakota State hasn’t been apparent in Lance’s work at practice, and there’s a strong case to be made that given he hasn’t played a full season since 2019, he should be given the starting job at some point this season because he needs the experience.
“Any time a guy is playing a lot better than the guy in front of them is when you start to split reps up with that team and start to talk about it,” Shanahan said when players first reported for training camp. “We’re going to give all those guys every opportunity to improve. And if someone ever looks like they give us a better chance to win, we’ll make that decision.”
It’s a handful of practices, but Lance is playing better than Garoppolo. It’s time to talk about it.
