Jerry Rice knows a thing or two about a 49ers quarterback controversy.
He caught touchdowns from a couple of Hall of Famers in Joe Montana and Steve Young during his heyday with the Niners. This weekend, Rice and Young will be part of a field at this year’s American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament that is filled with Bay Area sports stars.
Kirsten Moran of 95.7 The Game and Nevada Sports Net interviewed Rice Thursday during the practice round at Edgewood Golf Course on the shores of Lake Tahoe to get his thoughts on the Jimmy Garoppolo/Trey Lance situation.
“I don’t actually know what’s going to happen there,” Rice told Moran. “The thing is, they should put the best guy on the field. Jimmy G just had surgery, he’s not 100 percent right now. So I don’t know if he’s gonna be the guy or Trey Lance is gonna be the guy. Let ‘em compete. Bill Walsh always opened the door for competition, let them compete and the best guy should be the starter.”
Will Kyle Shanahan pull a Walsh and let Garoppolo and Lance compete this fall? Stay tuned.
Garoppolo should be getting back to the field for throwing activities soon after undergoing shoulder surgery on March 8. With Baker Mayfield’s trade to the Carolina Panthers on Wednesday, it appears the 49ers no longer have an obvious suitor for Garoppolo via trade.
At this juncture, it sounds like Rice would be comfortable with going into the season with Garoppolo making $26.9 million and sharing the quarterback room with Lance. Expectations are high for Lance, who is just 22. But that’s what happens when a team uses three first-round picks and a third-rounder to move up to get you.
Reports indicate that Lance is showing good growth while Garoppolo has been away from the team this summer. The 49ers might be better off cutting Garoppolo and shedding his salary, but the potentially awkward reunion clearly remains a possibility this fall.
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