Thirty years later and there’s another big transition at the 49ers quarterback position.
Jerry Rice might have had the most intimate look at the change from Joe Montana to Steve Young, as he caught thousands of footballs from those guys over the years. Now the Niners are making the switch from Jimmy Garoppolo to Trey Lance.
Rice joined 95.7 The Game’s “The Morning Roast” Monday to weigh in on the current state of the 49ers. Garoppolo remains on the 49ers with Tuesday’s 1 p.m. PT roster cut looming, by which he’s expected to be released.
“I don’t think there’s any big suitors right now coming after Jimmy G,” Rice told Bonta Hill and Steven Langford (filling in for Joe Shasky). “You would think with what he has done, that you would have teams coming after him. I’m thinking that the Niners made the right decision. It’s time to move on. ... I think we’re gonna have a fantastic year. It's gonna be exciting seeing this young kid become a superstar.”
Unlike the Montana-Young saga, which dragged out for six seasons, this seems to be a pretty nip/tuck job by general manager John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan. The 49ers set this plan in motion in March 2021 when they used three first-rounders and a third-round pick to move up to No. 3 overall and select Lance to be their quarterback of the future.
Rice said he could see the 49ers holding on to Garoppolo as Lance’s backup, but added that he’d like to see it at a discounted rate. Jimmy G is set to make $24.2 million base salary on his current deal if he’s still on the roster beyond Tuesday’s deadline, but could be cut and brought back on a chapter deal.
“It’s just that price tag,” Rice said. “It wouldn’t be a bad thing. But I think – Trey, it’s his time. He doesn’t want to be looking over his shoulder. This guy, he’s gonna have some adversity. There’s gonna be some ups and downs. If you got a quarterback like Jimmy G, maybe he feels like there’s pressure there, because Kyle Shanahan might decide to go back to Jimmy G.”
Rice has got some light work in with Lance on the football field, too, as he filmed a couple of commercials with Lance – one at Kezar Stadium for his GOAT Fuel energy drink brand and one at San Jose State University for Chipotle.
“It didn’t take me long to jell with him,” Rice said. “I was running routes with this guy at the age of 59 and it didn’t take long to develop chemistry.”
Rice said Lance’s body language reminded him of Montana’s.
“It didn’t take me long to adjust to Joe Montana,” Rice said. “You’re running the route, you know exactly how many steps you’re gonna take, you know the ball is gonna be in the air, the precision, the velocity, all of that. I felt the same way about Trey Lance.”
Like Young, Lance brings another element to the offense with his ability to run the ball.
“I think with Trey Lance too, he’s got that rocket arm, but he also got that mobility where he can get out of the pocket, extend plays and use his legs,” Rice said. “Defensive coordinators, they’re gonna have to plan for that. That brings a whole different scenario to the San Francisco 49ers.”
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