49ers Should Give Trey Lance the Majority of the Preseason Snaps

Trey Lance got to play the entire first half of the 49ers' preseason game against the Raiders.

If there was only one thing to take away from Lance's performance in that game, it was that he still is incredibly raw. The only way for him to go from raw to seasoned is by playing. Since he is not going to get that in the regular season, the preseason is all he has.

Unfortunately for Lance, the second preseason game against the Broncos will have him limited. Kyle Shanahan revealed Wednesday that Sam Darnold might be the quarterback who gets a half of football, while Lance gets a quarter. Given that the two players are competing for the backup spot to Brock Purdy, Shanahan wants to compare and contrast the two in similar scenarios.

However, the 49ers should be giving Lance the majority of the preseason snaps.

I get that Shanahan wants to see who performs the best out of the two, but it benefits him and the 49ers greatly to let Lance continue to work in these preseason games. Lance needs to polish up his game if the 49ers want to feel comfortable with him ever filling in. The only way to do that is for him to play. Practice reps hardly benefit him at this point.

It makes too much sense to play him for the majority of the next two preseason games. Lance should not be playing less than a half. In fact, I'd argue he should get three quarters or even an entire game. Lance is the one who will benefit the most from these games as opposed to Darnold.

It's not like Darnold is going to ascend with these preseason games. He needs little reps to get himself ready. He's been in the league for five years going on his sixth. Darnold is who he is at this point -- a one-read quarterback. Lance at least has a chance to ascend since he's hardly played in any games, both preseason and regular season.

Giving Lance the majority will not only increase the chances of him improving, but also increase his value. So, if the 49ers don't envision Lance in their future plans, then a couple of solid outings in the preseason could start to pique a team's interest. Limiting him to a quarter of football doesn't help with either of those aspects. It's a potentially double benefit for the 49ers. It behooves them to do it.

Let go of this ridiculous "backup competition" and play Lance the majority of the preseason.