When Trey Lance woke up Monday morning, things must have felt different.
While the hangover of Sunday's brutal 20-17 loss in the NFC Championship was probably still ringing in his head, there was also the prospect of his new reality: the 49ers are his team now.
On Monday, Lance reflected back on his rookie season that featured 10 quarters of meaningful action and nine months of non-stop nitpicking about the 49ers quarterback situation. Like many of his teammates throughout the stretch run of the season, Lance made sure to commend Garoppolo for handling the 2021 campaign like a pro.
"Jimmy's the man," Lance told reporters Monday. "You've heard it from everyone. No one's lying about it. He's inspired so many guys in this room with everything he's played through this year. Everything he's taught me and how he's handled our whole situation -- everyone put us against each other and everything like that in the media throughout this whole year, OTAs, everything. But he's been nothing but a big brother to me this whole year.
"Whether it's competing with him at practice or sitting in the meeting room and asking him questions, he's been nothing but great to me. I've got nothing but thankfulness for him and everything he's done and how he handled everything. Obviously, he's going to be one of my best friends for my whole entire life. Super excited to get to spend a couple weeks with him now."
Time is likely ticking on Garoppolo's tenure with the 49ers. The 30-year-old is owed $26.9 million next season and the franchise can save $25.5 million by trading him or cutting him in 2022. After leading the 49ers to their second NFC title game in three years, Garoppolo figures to command a decent return on the trade market.
The 49ers could use some draft capital after making a deal with the Miami Dolphins last March to move up and select Lance. They won't have a first- or third-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft and are also without a 2023 first-rounder. No pressure, Trey.
"I learned a ton throughout this year," Lance said. "It was a ton of fun. I got to learn from Jimmy -- one of the best dudes, in my opinion -- that I think I could have possibly learned from as a person, as a pro, and how he handles himself. Me, personally, I know I got a lot to work on, so I'm excited to kinda hit the ground running after a couple weeks off. I'm just thankful for this opportunity."
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Truth be told, Lance's biggest strides were probably made on the practice fields with the scout team. He took over at halftime in Week 4 for an injured Garoppolo before making his first career start in a 17-10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals the following week. Lance was sidelined for a couple weeks with a knee injury but was relegated to clipboard-holding duties until Week 17, when he earned his first career win with a 23-7 victory over the Houston Texans.
As such, Lance is still something of an unknown commodity. But he possesses the legs and flashed big-play confidence with his arm that allows the mind to make premature Josh Allen comparisons.
Despite the chorus of Trey Truthers, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan stayed the course this season and let Jimmy G take the team as far as he could. Lance finished his rookie campaign completing 41-of-71 passes (57.7 completion percentage) for 603 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions. On the ground, Lance carried the ball 38 times for 168 yards and a score.
"For me, it was about finding my role as soon as I knew what it was," Lance said. "It was Jimmy's spot, so for me, I just attacked it the way I needed to."
Looking ahead to 2022, veteran 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk said he's eager to see what Lance has in store.
"I'm excited to see what he does with his offseason," Juszczyk said. "I've seen what kind of work ethic he has, what kind of drive he has and I've seen what type of person he is. I know he's one that's going to dedicate everything to preparing himself and getting ready, and being ready to lead this team if that's what he's asked to do this next season."
The NFL moves fast. Not even 24 hours have passed and we're already eulogizing Garoppolo's 49ers career. But as emotional as Sunday's loss felt, 49ers players shared a common refrain: they were proud to be on that plane ride last night, one last time together as a squad.
"I think Jimmy said it best last night -- smile because it happened," 49ers tight end George Kittle said. "You just want to embrace those moments. Obviously, you want to look back and learn from those mistakes and all the things that wrong and how to get better from them, but at this exact moment, you just gotta enjoy it no matter how bad it sucks."
Hate him all you want, Jimmy G has set a high bar for Lance when it comes to team success. Week 1 will be here before we know it.
