It’s mid-February but the 49ers Faithful are already looking ahead to next season. There’s only seven months left until Week 1, but who’s counting?
Most of the 2022 intrigue is centered around second-year quarterback Trey Lance, who is set to take over as the face of the franchise under center. It’s widely expected that the 49ers will trade away Jimmy Garoppolo this spring and Lance will take over this fall.
Over the past couple of days, 4th & Gold podcast host Javier Vega has been sharing practice footage of 49ers quarterback Trey Lance making some eye-opening throws across his body. The clips have set 49ers Twitter on fire and sparked a big discussion about the 21-year-old’s potential.
Any NFL quarterback can look good with some cherry-picked practice highlights, but it’s hard not to watch those acrobatic throws and think of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who often contorts his body en route to some mesmerizing plays. But as Allen Iverson would note, we’re talking about practice. Vega shared more video, including some impressive plays from the preseason matchup against the Seattle Seahawks, but these highlights should be taken with a grain of salt.
Vega also shared a clip from Lance's start vs. the Arizona Cardinals in Week 5.
Lance wowed fans with an 80-yard touchdown on his first preseason throw but was limited to 10 meaningful quarters of action in the regular season. He completed 41 of 71 passes (57.7 percent) for 603 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions while also running 38 times for 168 yards and another score. According to NFL Insider Jay Glazer, via NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco, the 49ers are "enamored" about Lance's potential.
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49ers fans should get used to this level of attention on Lance, who the franchise selected after using three first-rounders and a third-rounder to move up to No. 3 in last year's draft. Every OTA and training camp practice session will be dissected until he finally steps between the lines as a starter. And that’s not to say it’s a guarantee in Week 1. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk thinks Tom Brady could be coming to the 49ers in 2022. Garoppolo isn’t out the door just yet.
In short, the NFL machine never stops, but the countdown to Trey Day is on. You already know that Kyle Shanahan is concocting some interesting plays for No. 5.
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