The Trey Lance thread

[Harry Palmer]

I personally think if we ever get the real story about who was banging the table for Trey and who did not want to pick him, we’ll start to understand the whole thing better. Right now there’s such variance, from Trey being Kyle’s guy (or second after you know who) and others saying he was totally on board for Jones and Trey was kinda forced on him as relative draft values became a little clearer as the draft approached. No idea which is true, but I do agree the latter would probably explain a lot of Kyle’s behaviour. Otoh, as we see with Aiyuk, Kyle has a history of being a lot more demanding and overtly unsupportive of guys he moves up to get, like he needs to prove no favourites, so I guess it could go either way or something in between. Can’t wait to find out, though.

[Pattersonca65]

I personally think if we ever get the real story about who was banging the table for Trey and who did not want to pick him, we’ll start to understand the whole thing better. Right now there’s such variance, from Trey being Kyle’s guy (or second after you know who) and others saying he was totally on board for Jones and Trey was kinda forced on him as relative draft values became a little clearer as the draft approached. No idea which is true, but I do agree the latter would probably explain a lot of Kyle’s behaviour. Otoh, as we see with Aiyuk, Kyle has a history of being a lot more demanding and overtly unsupportive of guys he moves up to get, like he needs to prove no favourites, so I guess it could go either way or something in between. Can’t wait to find out, though.

I find it hard to believe Kyle did not sign off on Lance. Kyle was given alot of sway from Jed York and Kyle has had alot of input on offensive player selection. Beathard was a Kyle Shanahan pick. The only thing that I think questions that is lance is typically not the type of QB Shanahan looks for and certainly does not look like a good fit in hindsight

[Pattersonca65]

Very late to comment on it, because I went on Vacation the day of the Lance trade, but I'm not surprised by it at all. Honestly, after it was announced Lance was the QB3 and he went home for the day, I knew he was not long for this team. To be honest, with his contract and how little good things he put on tape since he entered the league, I wouldn't have been shocked if they just released him.

Having said that, is a 4th round pick great. Umm, no. However, considering I was already prepared for him to get released I will take it. The hit rate in the middle rounds for this team is very good, so they might wind up snagging a solid player with that pick.

Expanding on that, I think the cheap cost of a 4th round pick goes to show that Trey isn't all that highly regarded around the NFL. I also think that it being a team like the Cowboys who has a very expensive already entrenched QB in place speaks volumes as well. It shows that there weren't really any teams out there that see's Trey as being a starting caliber. If it was a team like the Titans, Broncos, Commanders, Vikings, Saints, Bucs that traded for him then you could see a path for him to becoming the starter relatively soon. The interest just wasn't there.

Would I have liked to hold on to Trey especially considering the meager return, of course. However, at some point you have to consider the human element in play. At some point the team should have (and did) do right by the kid and sent him somewhere where he can get a fresh start with a clean slate. Having him locked away as QB3 and getting next to no in season reps, wasn't going to do Trey any good. Now he also gets all the pressure of being a top 3 pick after an expensive trade up taken off his shoulders. Now he can just go out and be Trey Lance. In turn not having the distraction of the Trey Lance situation around will help Brock Purdy as well.

The trade up ended up being a massive mistake and the lost draft capital hurts. There is no denying that. Still it wasn't a disaster, the team is still easily among the most talented in the league and arguably are actually better off at the QB position moving forward. What's done is done, the move worked out terrible for the 9ers but I'm not going to dwell on it. There is also a chance that the pick they got for Trey winds up being a pro bowler, which would certainly help soften the blow.

I've alluded to it a few times in the past already, but again I'm going to give massive credit to the organization for admitting fault and cutting the cord. The list of guys that chase sunk costs to the unemployment line is quite long. They realized that in their view Trey wasn't the right guy to move forward with and did what was best for the team and Trey himself. In fact I'm quite confident that if in the 9ers situation, the extreme vast majority of other teams would have traded Purdy because he would have turned a profit on his original 7th round cost, and just handed the keys right back to Trey simply because of his cost/draft pedigree.

In the end, I'm very bummed it didn't work out for Trey with the 9ers. I was excited about his upside when he was drafted. I hope he has a successful career, he seems like a great kid. I was both impressed and saddened when I read that he apologized for not being able to make it work here when he was informed he got traded. That's the kind of humble kid, you want to root for.

The lack of interest from other NFL teams for Trey kind of shows how he is viewed around the league. If teams were really sold on his potential they would have been bidding for his services with a better draft haul. I don't think we really got the whole story from Shanahan and the FO. Understandably they aren't going to air everything publicly. But they had soured on Lance for quite some time and there were enough reports to believe they shopped him during the offseason.

[Harry Palmer]

I personally think if we ever get the real story about who was banging the table for Trey and who did not want to pick him, we’ll start to understand the whole thing better. Right now there’s such variance, from Trey being Kyle’s guy (or second after you know who) and others saying he was totally on board for Jones and Trey was kinda forced on him as relative draft values became a little clearer as the draft approached. No idea which is true, but I do agree the latter would probably explain a lot of Kyle’s behaviour. Otoh, as we see with Aiyuk, Kyle has a history of being a lot more demanding and overtly unsupportive of guys he moves up to get, like he needs to prove no favourites, so I guess it could go either way or something in between. Can’t wait to find out, though.

I find it hard to believe Kyle did not sign off on Lance. Kyle was given alot of sway from Jed York and Kyle has had alot of input on offensive player selection. Beathard was a Kyle Shanahan pick. The only thing that I think questions that is lance is typically not the type of QB Shanahan looks for and certainly does not look like a good fit in hindsight

Yeah, when I say forced I mean more that he ended up kind of alone on Jones island and, added to outside draft evaluations, was more very reluctantly persuaded as opposed to shouted down. I think everyone knows Kyle ultimately holds the hammer, but if it was him vs. organization/outside evaluations he might have been put in a position of choosing to not cause a big split in the front office, and I’m sure he didn’t think Lance was a bum, just not his guy. again, this is not me saying this is what happened, more if it was not Kyle’s first choice this is the most likely way it played out. I doubt Jon went over Kyle’s head to Jed or anything like that.

[Pattersonca65]

I personally think if we ever get the real story about who was banging the table for Trey and who did not want to pick him, we’ll start to understand the whole thing better. Right now there’s such variance, from Trey being Kyle’s guy (or second after you know who) and others saying he was totally on board for Jones and Trey was kinda forced on him as relative draft values became a little clearer as the draft approached. No idea which is true, but I do agree the latter would probably explain a lot of Kyle’s behaviour. Otoh, as we see with Aiyuk, Kyle has a history of being a lot more demanding and overtly unsupportive of guys he moves up to get, like he needs to prove no favourites, so I guess it could go either way or something in between. Can’t wait to find out, though.

I find it hard to believe Kyle did not sign off on Lance. Kyle was given alot of sway from Jed York and Kyle has had alot of input on offensive player selection. Beathard was a Kyle Shanahan pick. The only thing that I think questions that is lance is typically not the type of QB Shanahan looks for and certainly does not look like a good fit in hindsight

Yeah, when I say forced I mean more that he ended up kind of alone on Jones island and, added to outside draft evaluations, was more very reluctantly persuaded as opposed to shouted down. I think everyone knows Kyle ultimately holds the hammer, but if it was him vs. organization/outside evaluations he might have been put in a position of choosing to not cause a big split in the front office, and I’m sure he didn’t think Lance was a bum, just not his guy. again, this is not me saying this is what happened, more if it was not Kyle’s first choice this is the most likely way it played out. I doubt Jon went over Kyle’s head to Jed or anything like that.

From what I've read neither Kyle or John Lynch were impressed with Jones' workout when they watched him throwing the ball. Both were in attendance.

[Harry Palmer]

I find it hard to believe Kyle did not sign off on Lance. Kyle was given alot of sway from Jed York and Kyle has had alot of input on offensive player selection. Beathard was a Kyle Shanahan pick. The only thing that I think questions that is lance is typically not the type of QB Shanahan looks for and certainly does not look like a good fit in hindsight

Yeah, when I say forced I mean more that he ended up kind of alone on Jones island and, added to outside draft evaluations, was more very reluctantly persuaded as opposed to shouted down. I think everyone knows Kyle ultimately holds the hammer, but if it was him vs. organization/outside evaluations he might have been put in a position of choosing to not cause a big split in the front office, and I’m sure he didn’t think Lance was a bum, just not his guy. again, this is not me saying this is what happened, more if it was not Kyle’s first choice this is the most likely way it played out. I doubt Jon went over Kyle’s head to Jed or anything like that.

From what I've read neither Kyle or John Lynch were impressed with Jones' workout when they watched him throwing the ball. Both were in attendance.

Ah, cool, never heard that. So it might just be at that point Kyle was kinda wishing they hadn’t traded up and was either talked into Trey or just kinda picked him as the least bad option kinda deal.

[Big J]

Taysom Hill can also be used as a viable fullback/tailback and even a receiver at times. Trey Lance can't currently do either of those. Trey would need development in those areas. The ironic thing there is we are all bemoaning the lack of developmental reps at QB for Trey, yet here you are trying to propose grooming him for a Taysom Hill type of role which would only hinder his potential growth as a QB.

Having a goal line/short yardage QB on the roster is better than having a worthless 4th round pick.

For starters, a 4th round pick is far from worthless.

You are neglecting to consider several things with your idea of making Trey a "short yardage QB."

You would be carrying a QB3 that costs you $6 million, let alone have that guy in such a limited specialized role. Where is the value to overall roster construction there?

The logistics of keeping Trey as QB3 on game day active list. In order to be available to be used in the role you are advocating Trey would have to be named as active during every game day. Which completely wipes away the benefit of the new "emergency QB" rule that was put in place for this year for being able to have 3 QB's available for games but only have 2 on the official active list That 3rd QB would only be eligible to play if the other 2 guys get hurt. So that being the case Trey would have to be on the official active list in order to be able be used in the short yardage role you are talking about. So you have to carry 3 active QB's (and keep in mind the situation you want to put Trey in, may not ever surface during the game) and be short a more useful player at some other position. In essence you just completely erased the benefits of the new QB rule.

There are no guarantees, that Trey would even be effective in such a role. In which case, what happens when Trey comes up short on the play, and the playclock is ticking down to the next play. Do you leave him out there to try the same thing again, or do you have to try and sub him out, get Brock back in there, get into the huddle, call a play, and get the ball snapped before you get a delay of game flag? In addition, if you use Trey in this role more than a couple times Defenses are going to catch on to it pretty dang quick.

No matter what type of other role you wold be trying to carve out for him at the end of the day he would have still been QB3. Being QB3 gets next to no in-season reps, now consider the human element here. Do you really think Trey would have been happy being locked away as QB3 and getting basically no further development as a QB while being used in a role that certainly exposes him to injury. Didn't he break his ankle on a running play?

Lastly, do you think Trey wants to chase his 2nd contract being viewed as a QB, or a short yardage ball carrier?

This could be easily solved by just making Trey the backup QB & Darnold QB3.

[Samurai]

I find it hard to believe Kyle did not sign off on Lance. Kyle was given alot of sway from Jed York and Kyle has had alot of input on offensive player selection. Beathard was a Kyle Shanahan pick. The only thing that I think questions that is lance is typically not the type of QB Shanahan looks for and certainly does not look like a good fit in hindsight

Yeah, when I say forced I mean more that he ended up kind of alone on Jones island and, added to outside draft evaluations, was more very reluctantly persuaded as opposed to shouted down. I think everyone knows Kyle ultimately holds the hammer, but if it was him vs. organization/outside evaluations he might have been put in a position of choosing to not cause a big split in the front office, and I’m sure he didn’t think Lance was a bum, just not his guy. again, this is not me saying this is what happened, more if it was not Kyle’s first choice this is the most likely way it played out. I doubt Jon went over Kyle’s head to Jed or anything like that.

From what I've read neither Kyle or John Lynch were impressed with Jones' workout when they watched him throwing the ball. Both were in attendance.

My question is what they saw in Lance as that "it" factor that Fields didn't display. Fields is certainly faster and a more dangerous runner and the few video clips from his workout that the Niners saw seemed to indicate that he could make every throw.

[thesack12]

Having a goal line/short yardage QB on the roster is better than having a worthless 4th round pick.

For starters, a 4th round pick is far from worthless.

You are neglecting to consider several things with your idea of making Trey a "short yardage QB."

You would be carrying a QB3 that costs you $6 million, let alone have that guy in such a limited specialized role. Where is the value to overall roster construction there?

The logistics of keeping Trey as QB3 on game day active list. In order to be available to be used in the role you are advocating Trey would have to be named as active during every game day. Which completely wipes away the benefit of the new "emergency QB" rule that was put in place for this year for being able to have 3 QB's available for games but only have 2 on the official active list That 3rd QB would only be eligible to play if the other 2 guys get hurt. So that being the case Trey would have to be on the official active list in order to be able be used in the short yardage role you are talking about. So you have to carry 3 active QB's (and keep in mind the situation you want to put Trey in, may not ever surface during the game) and be short a more useful player at some other position. In essence you just completely erased the benefits of the new QB rule.

There are no guarantees, that Trey would even be effective in such a role. In which case, what happens when Trey comes up short on the play, and the playclock is ticking down to the next play. Do you leave him out there to try the same thing again, or do you have to try and sub him out, get Brock back in there, get into the huddle, call a play, and get the ball snapped before you get a delay of game flag? In addition, if you use Trey in this role more than a couple times Defenses are going to catch on to it pretty dang quick.

No matter what type of other role you wold be trying to carve out for him at the end of the day he would have still been QB3. Being QB3 gets next to no in-season reps, now consider the human element here. Do you really think Trey would have been happy being locked away as QB3 and getting basically no further development as a QB while being used in a role that certainly exposes him to injury. Didn't he break his ankle on a running play?

Lastly, do you think Trey wants to chase his 2nd contract being viewed as a QB, or a short yardage ball carrier?

This could be easily solved by just making Trey the backup QB & Darnold QB3.

Oh, so gift Trey a spot he didn't earn.

I'm sure that wouldn't have set a bad tone to rest of the team or anything.

[Pattersonca65]

Yeah, when I say forced I mean more that he ended up kind of alone on Jones island and, added to outside draft evaluations, was more very reluctantly persuaded as opposed to shouted down. I think everyone knows Kyle ultimately holds the hammer, but if it was him vs. organization/outside evaluations he might have been put in a position of choosing to not cause a big split in the front office, and I’m sure he didn’t think Lance was a bum, just not his guy. again, this is not me saying this is what happened, more if it was not Kyle’s first choice this is the most likely way it played out. I doubt Jon went over Kyle’s head to Jed or anything like that.

From what I've read neither Kyle or John Lynch were impressed with Jones' workout when they watched him throwing the ball. Both were in attendance.

My question is what they saw in Lance as that "it" factor that Fields didn't display. Fields is certainly faster and a more dangerous runner and the few video clips from his workout that the Niners saw seemed to indicate that he could make every throw.

We kind of speculated on that here right after the draft. What we've read online. But we may never know for sure what they didn't see in Fields.

[Big J]

For starters, a 4th round pick is far from worthless.

You are neglecting to consider several things with your idea of making Trey a "short yardage QB."

You would be carrying a QB3 that costs you $6 million, let alone have that guy in such a limited specialized role. Where is the value to overall roster construction there?

The logistics of keeping Trey as QB3 on game day active list. In order to be available to be used in the role you are advocating Trey would have to be named as active during every game day. Which completely wipes away the benefit of the new "emergency QB" rule that was put in place for this year for being able to have 3 QB's available for games but only have 2 on the official active list That 3rd QB would only be eligible to play if the other 2 guys get hurt. So that being the case Trey would have to be on the official active list in order to be able be used in the short yardage role you are talking about. So you have to carry 3 active QB's (and keep in mind the situation you want to put Trey in, may not ever surface during the game) and be short a more useful player at some other position. In essence you just completely erased the benefits of the new QB rule.

There are no guarantees, that Trey would even be effective in such a role. In which case, what happens when Trey comes up short on the play, and the playclock is ticking down to the next play. Do you leave him out there to try the same thing again, or do you have to try and sub him out, get Brock back in there, get into the huddle, call a play, and get the ball snapped before you get a delay of game flag? In addition, if you use Trey in this role more than a couple times Defenses are going to catch on to it pretty dang quick.

No matter what type of other role you wold be trying to carve out for him at the end of the day he would have still been QB3. Being QB3 gets next to no in-season reps, now consider the human element here. Do you really think Trey would have been happy being locked away as QB3 and getting basically no further development as a QB while being used in a role that certainly exposes him to injury. Didn't he break his ankle on a running play?

Lastly, do you think Trey wants to chase his 2nd contract being viewed as a QB, or a short yardage ball carrier?

This could be easily solved by just making Trey the backup QB & Darnold QB3.

Oh, so gift Trey a spot he didn't earn.

I'm sure that wouldn't have set a bad tone to rest of the team or anything.

Nobody on the team is going to give a damn if Darnold is 3rd string. The entire league has seen his work. He's trash.

[Harry Palmer]

For starters, a 4th round pick is far from worthless.

You are neglecting to consider several things with your idea of making Trey a "short yardage QB."

You would be carrying a QB3 that costs you $6 million, let alone have that guy in such a limited specialized role. Where is the value to overall roster construction there?

The logistics of keeping Trey as QB3 on game day active list. In order to be available to be used in the role you are advocating Trey would have to be named as active during every game day. Which completely wipes away the benefit of the new "emergency QB" rule that was put in place for this year for being able to have 3 QB's available for games but only have 2 on the official active list That 3rd QB would only be eligible to play if the other 2 guys get hurt. So that being the case Trey would have to be on the official active list in order to be able be used in the short yardage role you are talking about. So you have to carry 3 active QB's (and keep in mind the situation you want to put Trey in, may not ever surface during the game) and be short a more useful player at some other position. In essence you just completely erased the benefits of the new QB rule.

There are no guarantees, that Trey would even be effective in such a role. In which case, what happens when Trey comes up short on the play, and the playclock is ticking down to the next play. Do you leave him out there to try the same thing again, or do you have to try and sub him out, get Brock back in there, get into the huddle, call a play, and get the ball snapped before you get a delay of game flag? In addition, if you use Trey in this role more than a couple times Defenses are going to catch on to it pretty dang quick.

No matter what type of other role you wold be trying to carve out for him at the end of the day he would have still been QB3. Being QB3 gets next to no in-season reps, now consider the human element here. Do you really think Trey would have been happy being locked away as QB3 and getting basically no further development as a QB while being used in a role that certainly exposes him to injury. Didn't he break his ankle on a running play?

Lastly, do you think Trey wants to chase his 2nd contract being viewed as a QB, or a short yardage ball carrier?

This could be easily solved by just making Trey the backup QB & Darnold QB3.

Oh, so gift Trey a spot he didn't earn.

I'm sure that wouldn't have set a bad tone to rest of the team or anything.

By whose definition did he not earn it?

If the year before they ‘gifted’ him the starting job…to the surprise of absolutely no one…what had he done since to lose at least the backup role other than get hurt. The last is a sticking point for me because sometimes I feel Kyle actually blames players for breaking bones, not sure if consciously or not.

[thesack12]

This could be easily solved by just making Trey the backup QB & Darnold QB3.

Oh, so gift Trey a spot he didn't earn.

I'm sure that wouldn't have set a bad tone to rest of the team or anything.

Nobody on the team is going to give a damn if Darnold is 3rd string. The entire league has seen his work. He's trash.

I'm not a Darnold fan, but he clearly outperformed Trey in camp/preseason.

And you are naive if you think players wouldn't care about a guy being gifted a job he didn't earn. What kind of precedent do you think that sets. It basically says performance doesn't matter when setting the depth chart, its draft position that counts.

[CrimsonCrew]

Yeah, when I say forced I mean more that he ended up kind of alone on Jones island and, added to outside draft evaluations, was more very reluctantly persuaded as opposed to shouted down. I think everyone knows Kyle ultimately holds the hammer, but if it was him vs. organization/outside evaluations he might have been put in a position of choosing to not cause a big split in the front office, and I’m sure he didn’t think Lance was a bum, just not his guy. again, this is not me saying this is what happened, more if it was not Kyle’s first choice this is the most likely way it played out. I doubt Jon went over Kyle’s head to Jed or anything like that.

From what I've read neither Kyle or John Lynch were impressed with Jones' workout when they watched him throwing the ball. Both were in attendance.

My question is what they saw in Lance as that "it" factor that Fields didn't display. Fields is certainly faster and a more dangerous runner and the few video clips from his workout that the Niners saw seemed to indicate that he could make every throw.

I think Fields was already out of contention by the pro days. Fields isn't a Kyle type of QB, even though he's the guy I wanted. He has a tendency to hold the ball too long, makes plays when things break down. He's not the "see it and throw it" type of guy. Though Lance certainly hasn't been that, either, and Fields' physical tools were clearly superior.

[CrimsonCrew]

Oh, so gift Trey a spot he didn't earn.

I'm sure that wouldn't have set a bad tone to rest of the team or anything.

Nobody on the team is going to give a damn if Darnold is 3rd string. The entire league has seen his work. He's trash.

I'm not a Darnold fan, but he clearly outperformed Trey in camp/preseason.

And you are naive if you think players wouldn't care about a guy being gifted a job he didn't earn. What kind of precedent do you think that sets. It basically says performance doesn't matter when setting the depth chart, its draft position that counts.

He clearly outperformed Lance in the preseason. Camp reports were pretty consistent that Lance looked better, with lots of reports that once Darnold came off the first read, things almost always went poorly. Granted they both left a lot to be desired, at least in terms of completion numbers, etc. Lance was awful in the first preseason game, but he ended his preseason looking really solid. That's part of why the timing of the decision/announcement was so curious. If the preseason games mattered so much, why not let Lance have a third to show if he could build on the end of the second?

Additionally, I haven't watched the entire third preseason game yet, but Darnold looked quite shaky in the early drives, just falling apart on third down repeatedly. Wouldn't it have been nice to factor that game in before making the final call on these guys? Darnold had trouble sustaining drives in the preseason, which is one of the big complaints about Lance. He's not a methodical guy like Purdy who finds the weaknesses in the D and exploits them over and over to march down the field. He's more feast or famine. But the feasts with Lance already seemed better than with Darnold.

[Big J]

Oh, so gift Trey a spot he didn't earn.

I'm sure that wouldn't have set a bad tone to rest of the team or anything.

Nobody on the team is going to give a damn if Darnold is 3rd string. The entire league has seen his work. He's trash.

I'm not a Darnold fan, but he clearly outperformed Trey in camp/preseason.

And you are naive if you think players wouldn't care about a guy being gifted a job he didn't earn. What kind of precedent do you think that sets. It basically says performance doesn't matter when setting the depth chart, its draft position that counts.

So did Trey outperform Jimmy G & Purdy in last years training camp?

[thesack12]

Nobody on the team is going to give a damn if Darnold is 3rd string. The entire league has seen his work. He's trash.

I'm not a Darnold fan, but he clearly outperformed Trey in camp/preseason.

And you are naive if you think players wouldn't care about a guy being gifted a job he didn't earn. What kind of precedent do you think that sets. It basically says performance doesn't matter when setting the depth chart, its draft position that counts.

He clearly outperformed Lance in the preseason. Camp reports were pretty consistent that Lance looked better, with lots of reports that once Darnold came off the first read, things almost always went poorly. Granted they both left a lot to be desired, at least in terms of completion numbers, etc. Lance was awful in the first preseason game, but he ended his preseason looking really solid. That's part of why the timing of the decision/announcement was so curious. If the preseason games mattered so much, why not let Lance have a third to show if he could build on the end of the second?

Additionally, I haven't watched the entire third preseason game yet, but Darnold looked quite shaky in the early drives, just falling apart on third down repeatedly. Wouldn't it have been nice to factor that game in before making the final call on these guys? Darnold had trouble sustaining drives in the preseason, which is one of the big complaints about Lance. He's not a methodical guy like Purdy who finds the weaknesses in the D and exploits them over and over to march down the field. He's more feast or famine. But the feasts with Lance already seemed better than with Darnold.

I don't know, you had Maiocco saying things along the lines Darnold is the most talented thrower of a ball the 49ers have ever had. Granted there is recency bias and hyperbole in that statement for sure. And of course there is a lot more to quarterbacking than throwing a football. Still, Maiocco has been covering the team since the late 90's, so a statement like that carries some weight. Certainly more than when Grant Cohn says "Trey Lance is the best QB prospect to come out since John Elway." Nevermind the fact that Grant was already on record saying they should draft Kyle Pitts at 3, then take Kellen Mond in the 3rd round. But that speaks more to Grant being a click baity biased buffoon more than anything and is off topic.

I didn't really read many glowing reports for Lance coming out during camp. I seem to recall that some reports were saying that at times Allen looked better than Lance.

I was on vacation, so I didn't watch any of the 3rd preseason game. So I can't comment on at all on that one. Still, the 9ers already had a pretty good idea on where Trey was at and know him intimately. Short of one of the most amazing preseason performances you've ever seen, I doubt whatever happened in that last game was going to tilt the decision much at all.

So I don't think the timing of the decision was odd. If anything it made sense to do it then, in that you do it prior to roster cutdown to try and spur trade interest in him. There is always a flurry of trades in that week or 2 prior to final cut downs.

Circling back to Darnold specifically, again I'll say I'm not a fan. He's been by and large bad so far in his career. Still he does posess a good amount of raw talent. Like Trey, Sam was also a 3rd overall draft pick. So there is a chance that Kyle can unlock Darnold. Its not like the 9ers kept a guy with zero short term or long term hope like a Nate Sudfeld. Compared to Trey, Darnold was the better short term option and could actually be a better long term option as well. Time will tell.

[thesack12]

Nobody on the team is going to give a damn if Darnold is 3rd string. The entire league has seen his work. He's trash.

I'm not a Darnold fan, but he clearly outperformed Trey in camp/preseason.

And you are naive if you think players wouldn't care about a guy being gifted a job he didn't earn. What kind of precedent do you think that sets. It basically says performance doesn't matter when setting the depth chart, its draft position that counts.

So did Trey outperform Jimmy G & Purdy in last years training camp?

They didn't even allow Jimmy to do anything but jog on a side field until the season started/contract restructure. At the time Purdy wasn't on the radar while getting scraps. The only "*cough* competition *cough* Trey faced was Nate Sudfeld.

There is a reason why the vets were outwardly happy when Jimmy was re-instated as the starter when Trey got hurt.

[Pattersonca65]

I'm not a Darnold fan, but he clearly outperformed Trey in camp/preseason.

And you are naive if you think players wouldn't care about a guy being gifted a job he didn't earn. What kind of precedent do you think that sets. It basically says performance doesn't matter when setting the depth chart, its draft position that counts.

So did Trey outperform Jimmy G & Purdy in last years training camp?

They didn't even allow Jimmy to do anything but jog on a side field until the season started/contract restructure. At the time Purdy wasn't on the radar while getting scraps. The only "*cough* competition *cough* Trey faced was Nate Sudfeld.

There is a reason why the vets were outwardly happy when Jimmy was re-instated as the starter when Trey got hurt.

There were reports coming out of camp that the FO was not happy with Trey's progress to date.

[CrimsonCrew]

I'm not a Darnold fan, but he clearly outperformed Trey in camp/preseason.

And you are naive if you think players wouldn't care about a guy being gifted a job he didn't earn. What kind of precedent do you think that sets. It basically says performance doesn't matter when setting the depth chart, its draft position that counts.

He clearly outperformed Lance in the preseason. Camp reports were pretty consistent that Lance looked better, with lots of reports that once Darnold came off the first read, things almost always went poorly. Granted they both left a lot to be desired, at least in terms of completion numbers, etc. Lance was awful in the first preseason game, but he ended his preseason looking really solid. That's part of why the timing of the decision/announcement was so curious. If the preseason games mattered so much, why not let Lance have a third to show if he could build on the end of the second?

Additionally, I haven't watched the entire third preseason game yet, but Darnold looked quite shaky in the early drives, just falling apart on third down repeatedly. Wouldn't it have been nice to factor that game in before making the final call on these guys? Darnold had trouble sustaining drives in the preseason, which is one of the big complaints about Lance. He's not a methodical guy like Purdy who finds the weaknesses in the D and exploits them over and over to march down the field. He's more feast or famine. But the feasts with Lance already seemed better than with Darnold.

I don't know, you had Maiocco saying things along the lines Darnold is the most talented thrower of a ball the 49ers have ever had. Granted there is recency bias and hyperbole in that statement for sure. And of course there is a lot more to quarterbacking than throwing a football. Still, Maiocco has been covering the team since the late 90's, so a statement like that carries some weight. Certainly more than when Grant Cohn says "Trey Lance is the best QB prospect to come out since John Elway." Nevermind the fact that Grant was already on record saying they should draft Kyle Pitts at 3, then take Kellen Mond in the 3rd round. But that speaks more to Grant being a click baity biased buffoon more than anything and is off topic.

I didn't really read many glowing reports for Lance coming out during camp. I seem to recall that some reports were saying that at times Allen looked better than Lance.

I was on vacation, so I didn't watch any of the 3rd preseason game. So I can't comment on at all on that one. Still, the 9ers already had a pretty good idea on where Trey was at and know him intimately. Short of one of the most amazing preseason performances you've ever seen, I doubt whatever happened in that last game was going to tilt the decision much at all.

So I don't think the timing of the decision was odd. If anything it made sense to do it then, in that you do it prior to roster cutdown to try and spur trade interest in him. There is always a flurry of trades in that week or 2 prior to final cut downs.

Circling back to Darnold specifically, again I'll say I'm not a fan. He's been by and large bad so far in his career. Still he does posess a good amount of raw talent. Like Trey, Sam was also a 3rd overall draft pick. So there is a chance that Kyle can unlock Darnold. Its not like the 9ers kept a guy with zero short term or long term hope like a Nate Sudfeld. Compared to Trey, Darnold was the better short term option and could actually be a better long term option as well. Time will tell.

Darnold absolutely has arm talent. And if the first read is open, he's shown he's pretty good. He just sucks at almost everything else. Maybe Shanahan unlocks that, but I'm not holding my breath. We saw flashes of that indecisiveness when the first read wasn't there, and that's his biggest problem.

Again, Lance has some pretty similar questions. But unlike Darnold, Lance hasn't had 55 NFL starts to improve those things (and failed to do so).