Trey Lance isn’t quite QB1 while Brock Purdy rehabs his surgically-repaired elbow. Lance is more like QB1A and Sam Darnold is QB1B.
Lance and Darnold continue to split first-team reps as the 49ers hold offseason team activities (OTAs) in Santa Clara this week. Listening to 49ers tight end George Kittle on Tuesday, Lance is spinning the pigskin.
“I’m not gonna lie to you guys, I think Trey looks significantly better than he did last year. I really do” Kittle told reporters. “His confidence is there. I think that he’s throwing really good passes. I know you guys take videos – he overthrows people once in a while – it is what it is. He’s still learning stuff, but just watching him, he looks so much more comfortable and confident in the pocket. I really appreciate that from him for all the work he’s put into it.”
As coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters recently, Lance’s touch-and-go NFL career was severely hampered by a finger injury he suffered in preseason Week 3 in 2021. Lance had to adjust his throwing motion as a rookie, before reverting his second season, which was derailed by a foot/ankle injury in Week 2. Now Lance has a clean slate heading into the summer.
Grant Cohn of Sports Illustrated shared an extended video of Lance’s practice session on Tuesday.
Kittle said he can’t tell if the ball is coming out of Lance’s hand differently this year, but that he’s encouraged by the young quarterback’s positive mindset.
“When guys are lacking confidence or something, you can tell,” Kittle said. “I haven’t seen that from him at all this year. He has this energy to him, he has this passion to him.”
Kittle is a loyal teammate and has been outspoken in his support for Purdy since last season, but this type of endorsement certainly holds some weight.
