Peter King has seen a lot of football in his four decades covering the NFL. Yet he’s never seen a QB situation like the 49ers the past few years.
On Thursday’s edition of “Willard & Dibs” on 95.7 The Game, King told hosts Mark Willard and Allen Stiles (filling in for Dan Dibley) that the 49ers are in uncharted territory when it comes to their QB musical chairs.
“The 49ers seven-year quarterback situation since John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan have taken over – it’s been six years and now we’re going into Year 7 – is the craziest quarterback situation I have seen in 40 years of covering professional football,” King said. “This is just the latest chapter, obviously.”
Here’s a brief timeline if you need a refresher:
2017: 49ers execute midseason trade for Jimmy Garoppolo and sign him to a record-setting five-year deal
2018: Garoppolo tears his ACL in Week 3 in a season ruined by injuries
2019: Garoppolo starts all 16 games and leads 49ers to Super Bowl
2020: Garoppolo injures ankle and starts six games, while Nick Mullens starts eight and C.J. Beathard started two
2021: The 49ers move up to take Trey Lance No. 3 overall and create awkward situation for Garoppolo, who remains the starter
2022: Lance is given the keys to the offense but suffers season-ending injury in Week 2, before Garoppolo (Week 13) and Brock Purdy (NFC Championship) get injured
2023: 49ers sign Sam Darnold to free-agent contract to compete with Lance for QB2
About three weeks away from the season-opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the 49ers now find themselves in another unique situation, as they let Lance skip Wednesday’s practice after naming Darnold QB2 for the season.
While it appears the Niners are making Lance available for a trade before Tuesday’s 53-man cutdown date, King thinks they’d be better off keeping Trey.
“My gut feeling is that Trey Lance stays with the 49ers,” King said. “The reason why I think he stays is because I think John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan are going to understand that the team could want him the most – can actually pay some decent compensation – is the Minnesota Vikings. But this is terrible timing for the Minnesota Vikings.”
Minnesota been singled out as a top potential suitor for Lance, but King thinks bringing on the 23-year-old could sour the locker room dynamics with veteran QB Kirk Cousins.
“Let’s just say that that happens,” King said. “If that happens, then Kirk Cousins is going to enter this season knowing that it is highly likely that his replacement is on the roster and he is a lame duck entering his age 35 season. That would just be a bad signal to send to the most important player in your franchise. Look, maybe there’s another team out there that loves Trey Lance.”
It seems like a mid-round pick is the best return the 49ers could get for Lance at this juncture. King believes the team would be better off dealing with the outside noise than letting Lance leave for a fresh start.
“As long as they keep Trey Lance, there’s going to be this drumbeat of fans that say, ‘You gotta give him a chance. You paid too much to not give him a chance,’” King said. “If I were the 49ers, I hang on to him. I absolutely, totally hang on to him. I don’t get rid of him. You just cope with the quasi-firestorm that you know you’re gonna have. ... I’m just telling you, do not trade this guy. I think it’d be a big mistake.””
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