SANTA CLARA – Trey Lance gave a thumbs up as the stretcher crawled off the southern end zone at Levi’s Stadium Sunday afternoon.
About 80 yards away, Jimmy Garoppolo was already under center with the next play call from the sideline. There’s no time for waiting in the NFL.
In a flash, the 49ers’ season took a major turn with 2:20 left in the first quarter, when Lance was lost for the season with a broken ankle on a designed running play. After the game, coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters Lance was scheduled for a Monday surgery that will wipe out his 2022 campaign.
The 49ers would go on to win 27-7 over their divisional rivals, but Lance’s injury dampened the overall mood of the afternoon. It’s an unfair and premature ending to the season for Lance, who had positioned himself to be the 49ers starting quarterback this season. He didn’t even last five quarters.
“Just seeing all the work Trey put in from last year to this year, it kind of broke my heart,” 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel said. “I was praying for him. He’s a great guy, that’s what makes him so special.”
On the fateful play where Lance was injured, he went behind right guard on his third designed run of the afternoon. His ankle appeared to break as he tried to cut and got popped by 237-pound linebacker Cody Barton and 345-pound tackle Bryan Mone. Lance stayed prone on the ground before a stretcher was quickly called to whisk him off the field. As Lance labored, the 49ers and Seahawks both gathered around the cart.
“It was a sad moment,” 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings said. “I don’t even really like thinking about it, talking about it. Just hate it, bro, for real.”
Even though Lance was hurt on a designed run, 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk said you can’t pin the injury on the play-call.
“An ankle – that can happen any play,” Juszczyk said. “That’s not someone being more physical than him. That’s fluke stuff.”
Likewise, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan didn’t sound like he would have done anything different.
"Any time a guy gets hurt, I wish I didn't call that,” Shanahan said. “But, that's something we were going to do and something we would've continued to do."
This isn't the first time Shanahan has had to deal with an early season-ending injury to his starting quarterback. In 2018, Garoppolo had to be carted off the field in Week 3 after tearing his ACL. At one point on the sidelines during Sunday's game, Garoppolo said he talked to a teammate about everything coming around "full circle."
“It was weird," Garoppolo said. "I’ve been in Trey’s shoes, it sucks going through that. It’s tough as a young player, but he’ll come back better from it and if you do that I think it will set you up for success in future.”
For months, the hype surrounding Lance has been nauseating. Just like that, it’s all gone.
Lance has been fighting the narrative of his inexperience, but that will drag on into 2023 now with a lengthy recovery ahead of him. He has still only played in 24 games since high school, including 15 quarters of meaningful NFL action. Lance will have to get back to the drawing board.
“It’s the worst part of the game, obviously,” said Nick Bosa, who suffered a season-ending injury in Week 2 of 2020. “It happens instantly and there’s no going back. Once it happens, obviously you feel like your life is over for a certain amount of time. … It’s not gonna be easy, but he will be back and he will be fine, it’s just really tough right now.”
