Why the 49ers Won't Play Trey Lance

It's becoming increasingly difficult to understand why the 49ers have stopped playing Trey Lance.

They spent three first-round picks plus a third on him because Jimmy Garoppolo isn't good enough, as he demonstrated in the 49ers' recent loss to the Titans.

This offseason, Kyle Shanahan installed a two quarterback system because he said Lance was too good to keep off the field. And Shanahan used Lance off the bench in Weeks 1 and 3, and he scored two touchdowns.

But Lance hasn't played since Week 5, even though the 49ers are a disappointing 8-7. We're talking about the future of the franchise who won Scout Team Player of the Month and has been fantastic in practice according to team captain Fred Warner. "Trey has a bright future ahead," Warner said after the 49ers beat the Falcons this past Sunday. "We see it every day in practice on our side, because he's out there dicing us up."

This past Thursday would have been a great opportunity to play Lance, considering Garoppolo singlehandedly lost the game by throwing two interceptions. All he had to do to win was not throw those picks. Which is why Lance might have been able to beat Tennessee.

But there's one extremely important reason the 49ers did not play Lance, and most likely will not play him any more this season: If he were successful, if he were to play better than Garoppolo, which is easy to do when Garoppolo turns the ball over so frequently, people in the front office, the locker room, the media and the fan base would start to ask, "Why didn't Lance play earlier?"

I highly doubt Shanahan wants to face that question.

And that's why Lance won't play anymore this season barring injury.