Three Things Trey Lance Needs to do to Return as 49ers Starting QB
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An uphill battle is staring Trey Lance square in the face as he looks to regain his starting role as the 49ers quarterback. Right now, it is Brock Purdy who is holding the reigns as the starter despite being on the mend from UCL surgery. This actually presents a unique opportunity for Lance to make his case as the starter as he likely doesn't get this chance with Purdy healthy.
Lance will be placed in a competition with newcomer Sam Darnold, so there is going to be some heat on him to be efficient. He has to maximize every opportunity and be at his best because this is a career defining year for him. It won't be easy by any means. So much will have to go right for him. In order to return as the starting quarterback of the 49ers, Lance must successfully fulfill these three things.
Look the part
It all starts with the practices the 49ers will have after the draft. Lane will need to handle business in OTAs, training camp, and the preseason. For this, Lance just has to look the part. He won’t win the job here or even give himself that much of an advantage if he looks good, but he does himself no favors if he puts together some poor outings during these phases.
Lance can hurt his stock more than he can help it here. The fact that the 49ers are having him compete with Darnold means they have a side-by-side comparison to see where he’s really at. Look the part and don’t get outdone by Darnold for a stretch of practice or else Shanahan and his teammates will start to disconnect from Lance. If he can be sweet for the vast majority of these phases, then he should earn himself the starting job until Purdy returns.
Play well in regular season games
Accomplishing the first step will most likely see Lance as the starting quarterback for the regular season opener. Purdy is expected to be back by then, but the 49ers will probably be reluctant to just throw him in there. I expect them to be cautious with Purdy's return, and with Lance presumably looking the part, the 49ers should give Lance the start in Week 1. This is where he can really swing the tide in his favor and sway the minds of the team.
It all starts with winning games. There is nothing more convincing to Shanahan and the star players on the 49ers that a quarterback should remain than winning games. It's why they held onto Jimmy Garoppolo for so long despite not being a major factor for those wins. Lance starting off the season on a strong note will allow him to hold on as the starter. What will get him trending and possibly become the indefinite starter is if he is also playing extremely well to the point that he is a driving force for the wins.
Easier said than done of course, but this is what Lance has to do. He has to outdo what Purdy did in his starts from last season and get his coaches and teammates to fully buy into him. Once he does so, then he will remain the starter. However, if the 49ers are losing and he is playing below par, then the plug will get pulled on him, potentially ending his tenure with the 49ers.
Health
By far the most important aspect of 2023 for Lance. The motto this year is simple: stay healthy. Any time missed for any reason, be it precautionary or not, is going to plummet any momentum he has toward earning the job. It might even take him out of the running until Darnold messes up or gets injured himself. Missed time is a major blemish on his stock. It doesn't matter if the injury is a freak accident or whatever cause it may be, missed time for whatever reason is going to put him in a hole.
There is even a strong chance that he can never recover after falling so behind. But that all depends exactly on how long he is out for any reason whether it is a setback, fatigue, precautionary, or legitimate injury. Say his shoulder is bothering him during training camp and he is forced to miss a couple of practices. That isn't too much of a sting to his momentum. It is only if it starts reaching above three consecutive missed or if he is just missing practice in random chunks.
The 49ers will have zero patience for injuries this year I believe. They have already made it public, at least John Lynch has, in regard to Lance's issues with staying available. He desperately needs to be if he wants to accomplish "looking the part" and making it to the regular season to reel off a stretch of games. So much is up against Lance that it is easier for him to falter than it will be to succeed. But this is why if he does accomplish all three of these things that I strongly believe he will find himself as the indefinite starter. To overcome all the odds and the adversity will mean that Lance is a mentally strong and overall talented player. It will also mean that his potential is finally becoming reached as well, which will only bode well for his career and the 49ers.
