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Will Jim Harbaugh Kickstart Former 49ers QB Trey Lance's Career?

I'm sure it would make Harbaugh extremely pleased to develop Lance into a quality quarterback after the 49ers gave up.
Grant Cohn|
August 19, 2023; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance (5) during the fourth quarter against the Denver Broncos at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
August 19, 2023; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance (5) during the fourth quarter against the Denver Broncos at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

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San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers never really gave Trey Lance a chance. Now Jim Harbaugh will. And he just might kickstart Lance's career.

The 49ers spent three first-round picks and a third on Lance. But he started only four games in two seasons, then he broke his ankle and Brock Purdy eventually took the job. So they traded him to the Cowboys, who gave him just one start in two seasons. Then he became a free agent.

For the first time in Lance's career, he could pick his team. And he took his time. He was one of the last quarterbacks to sign this offseason. While he weighed his options, speculation arose that he might end up in the Canadian Football League.

Instead, Lance signed a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Chargers whose head coach, Jim Harbaugh, is another former Niner who was run out of town perhaps too soon. I'm sure it would make Harbaugh extremely pleased to develop Lance into a quality quarterback after the 49ers gave up.

Keep in mind, Harbaugh has kickstarted quarterbacks' careers before. In 2011, he made Alex Smith a winning quarterback. Before that season, he was seen as a bust, one of the worst picks in franchise history. Harbaugh completely rebuilt his confidence and set him up to have a long, fruitful career.

Then, Harbaugh developed Colin Kaepernick into one of the league's most dangerous offensive weapons. Kaepernick never was an elite quarterback, but combined with Harbaugh he was extremely difficult to defend. Then the 49ers and Harbaugh "mutually agreed to part ways."

It will be interesting to see if Harbaugh can do for Lance what he did for Smith and Kaepernick. Don't forget that Harbaugh's offensive coordinator, Greg Roman, also worked with Lamar Jackson and is among the league's best coaches when it comes to working with dual-threat quarterbacks such as Lance.

I love this move.

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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