Kyle Shanahan Says the 49ers Will Use Two Quarterbacks in 2021
Head coach Kyle Shanahan still won't call this quarterback competition what it is -- a quarterback competition.
But he did acknowledge Friday that Trey Lance will play this season even if he isn't the starting quarterback. Which means Lance is forcing his way onto the field by exceeding expectations in practice.
It also means the 49ers will use a two-quarterback system until Lance finally takes Jimmy Garoppolo's job, which could happen real soon, because two quarterback systems typically don't last long.
"Trey is going to play for us this year," Shanahan said. "Situationally, he's going to get plays. That doesn't mean he's going to be the starter, but he will get plays, and you've got to prepare him for that."
Here's how the 49ers prepared their two quarterbacks on Day 8 of training camp.
JIMMY GAROPPOLO
Completed 7 of 12 pass attempts and threw zero interceptions -- a good day for him. His longest completion traveled 15 yards. Here's the blow by blow of his practice.
1. Threw a pass to Deebo Samuel running an out route, and Emmanuel Moseley broke it up. The pass was late, and then it died.
2. Completed a pass behind the line of scrimmage to Brandon Aiyuk running a tunnel screen.
3. Completed a five-yard pass over the middle to George Kittle after getting tagged for a sack by Dee Ford.
4. Completed a 10-yard pass over the middle to Kittle who was covered by Dre Greenlaw.
5. Scrambled to his right for five yards.
6. Sailed a pass over the head of Kittle who was running a dig route. Kittle tipped the pass and it was almost intercepted. This looked like the interception Garoppolo threw in New England last season.
7. Completed a 15-yard pass to Samuel running an out route against Ken Webster.
8. Threw the ball away in the face of pressure from D.J. Jones.
9. Underthrew a deep ball to Deebo Samuel, who was open running a fade route against Webster, the cornerback Garoppolo almost always targets. Samuel had a step or two on Webster, but Garoppolo's pass fluttered and forced Samuel to stop and reach back over Webster to make the grab. Incomplete. Ever since Garoppolo overthrew the deep pass to Emmanuel Sanders in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl, he has underthrown his deep passes or refused to pull the trigger entirely. It seems he still hasn't mentally recovered from missing that throw and losing that Super Bowl.
10. Ran a naked bootleg and gained 10 yards. Who knew Garoppolo could move?
11. Threw a one-hopper off his back foot intended for Kevin White running a deep crossing route. This pass had nothing on it.
12. Rolled left and completed a five-yard pass to Kyle Juszczyk.
13. Completed a 15-yard pass to Aiyuk running a dig route. This was Garoppolo's best throw of the morning.
14. Completed a five-yard pass to Kittle running a quick out on third and 8. Jason Verrett made the stop in front of the sticks.
TREY LANCE
Completed 8 of 12 pass attempts and fumbled two exchanges during run plays. Also completed a 30-yard pass to Travis Benjamin. In Lance's past four practices, he has completed a whopping 37 of 47 pass attempts -- 78.7 percent. Here's the blow by blow of his Friday.
1. Fumbled a zone-read exchange with running back Wayne Gallman. This was Lance's third fumble while carrying out a ball fake in camp.
2. Completed a 30-yard pass to Travis Benjamin sprinting up the right seam. Dontae Johnson had good coverage on the play.
3. Ran a zone read and gained no yards. Talanoa Hufanga stopped him.
4. Completed a five-yard pass to Kittle running a shallow cross.
5. Completed a 10-yard pass to running back Elijah Mitchell running a Texas route.
6. Ran a zone read to the right and gained five yards.
7. Scrambled to his right for five yards rather than throw deep to Samuel who was double covered. Good decision.
8. Completed a screen pass behind the line of scrimmage to Wayne Gallman.
9. Completed a swing pass behind the line of scrimmage to Jauan Jennings.
10. Scrambled to his left after getting tagged for a sack by Kevin Givens and threw a deep pass incomplete intended for Jennings.
11. Fumbled an exchange during a zone read for the fourth time in camp. Lance better get these ball fakes down now, because he's going to run a ton of zone reads during the season.
12. Checked down to Trent Sherfield for five yards.
13. Dumped the ball in the flat to backup fullback Josh Hokit.
14. Ran QB power off tackle and gained five yards.
15. Got his pass knocked back into his face by a blitzing linebacker on second and 10.
16. Threw an incomplete pass to Sherfield running an out route on third and 10. The pass was high, but the play didn't count because rookie left tackle Jaylon Moore got flagged for a false start.
17. Scrambled out of the pocket and threw the ball away on third and 15. Kyle Shanahan called a bogus penalty on a defensive coach for standing on the field to give the offense an automatic first down and Lance another rep. So this incomplete pass counts.
18. Threw to Richie James Jr. running a deep crossing route from right to left and missed high.
This was Lance's worst practice of camp, and he still outplayed Garoppolo. It's only a matter of time until the 49ers name Lance the starter.
I still believe he'll start Week 1, no matter what Shanahan says.
