Sam Darnold has beaten out Trey Lance for the 49ers’ backup quarterback job, Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com report (on Twitter). As a result, the former San Francisco starter’s status going into his third season is uncertain.
Playing ahead of Lance in the 49ers’ second preseason game, Darnold had been expected to begin the season as Brock Purdy‘s backup. Wednesday’s announcement, however, brings clarity on one end and adds doubt on another. After going into last season as the 49ers’ unquestioned starter, Lance has seen his stock crater. Lance is not at 49ers practice Wednesday, the San Jose Mercury News’ Cam Inman tweets.
Rumblings about a Lance trade emerged before the draft, though the 49ers denied they were shopping him. Lynch spoke to Lance about the rumors, and the athletic passer indicated he was not seeking a trade. That all may change now. The Vikings were on the radar for Lance before the draft, and Rapoport suggested this as a landing spot for the Marshall, Minn., native. But the Vikes, who roster ex-49er Nick Mullens behind Kirk Cousins, drafted Jaren Hall in Round 5.
The 49ers have continued to shop Lance for much of the offseason, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini tweets, noting no significant offer has come the team’s way. In April, however, Russini notes the Vikings and 49ers were pretty far down the road on a trade (Twitter link). Considering the lack of evidence regarding Lance’s NFL capabilities, it is difficult to foresee the 49ers receiving an especially worthwhile proposal. That will put the organization to a decision with 2021 third’s overall choice.
Prior to free agency’s outset, John Lynch spoke of the 49ers adding another QB due to Lance coming off two ankle surgeries and Purdy rehabbing a torn UCL. Rather than that quarterback becoming a third-string option that drifted off the radar once Purdy returned, the 49ers signed Darnold. Kyle Shanahan has spoken highly of the 2018 third overall pick, who signed a one-year deal worth $4.5MM early in free agency. And the 49ers will go into the season with the recent Panthers starter as Purdy’s top reserve.
The appeal of playing in a 49ers offense housing three All-Pro skill-position talents (George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, Christian McCaffrey) helped bring Darnold back to California. The USC alum is still just 26, and while he has been given considerable run as a starter (55 games), the 49ers represent a better situation compared to the Jets and Panthers offenses he piloted. Shanahan has made it clear Purdy is the starter, and he debuted for the team against the Broncos on Saturday. It is certainly interesting that Darnold — the No. 3 overall pick in 2018 — will back up last year’s Mr. Irrelevant, but even if Purdy’s leash should be lengthy, the 49ers have more stability at QB2 in the sixth-year veteran.
For Lance, this marks another setback in a career full of them. Shanahan had thrown cold water on Lance’s prospects in the spring. Rather than this being a three-way competition for the starter gig, the 49ers did not give Lance much of a shot to regain his job as Purdy rehabbed. The North Dakota State alum quarterbacked much of the second half Saturday, and although he fared decently (12-for-18, 173 yards), it is possible that becomes audition tape for another team now.
Lance’s past three-plus years have doubled as one of the strangest career arcs for any top prospect in NFL history. After Lance dominated as a dual-threat talent for a Division I-FCS dynasty in 2019, as a redshirt freshman, the COVID-19 pandemic nixed FCS football in 2020. Lance was limited to one game as a sophomore, and he declared for the draft. That monster 2019 showing still made him a top prospect, like fellow ex-Bison Carson Wentz was five years prior, but Lance went to a 49ers team that may not have been all in on him. Rumors swirled about Shanahan preferring Mac Jones.
Lance, 23, has not come close to justifying the 49ers’ nine-spot trade-up, which cost them two first-round picks. He has attempted 102 passes as a pro, starting only four games and finishing just three. The Week 2 start against the Seahawks last season, leading to Lance’s ankle fracture, may be his last cameo as a 49er. After years of injury issues at QB, the 49ers are in better shape now. Purdy is no longer under any restrictions, and Darnold is healthy. That said, Darnold has missed games due to injury in each of his five seasons. This included a high ankle sprain last year, though he has certainly been healthier than Jimmy Garoppolo as a pro.
It should be expected the 49ers will attempt to move their third-stringer; May pickup Brandon Allen remains on San Francisco’s roster as well. Considering what the 49ers gave up to acquire Lance, moving him will cement a major draft blunder for an otherwise successful operation.
Wow.
Considering what San Fran gave up for him, Lance would have to go down as the biggest draft bust in recent memory. Maybe ever.
This is why George Allen would always prefer a wily veteran over draft picks.
Yeah, JaMarcus Russell is only gonna be viewed worse potentially cause he went 1st overall instead of 3rd
ya but at least he played a little. this guy has done nothing for the team but cost them a roster spot and 3 first round picks. if they werent playing so well this would be something you should fire a GM for. or a head scout or whatever.
He’s actually already worse than Russell cause of the cost and who went after him lol
Lance was an epic bust because of the draft equity they gave up to choose him and who they passed up in doing so, while JaMarcus and his purple drank caused the rookie salaries to plummet.
Yes, but the Raiders didn’t have to give up two 1st rounders to get Russell. This looks awful!
Raider fans are relieved JaMarcus Russell moves to #2 on the all time bust list.
No one can be worse then Leaf and don’t forget the haul the bears gave to get Mitch Trubisky
Lance just needs a chance to play if I’m Detroit or NO go get him let him sit this yr behind Goff and Carr with both their contracts being up soon it wouldn’t be a bad investment I would say Cards but no way they trade him with their division
Leaf at least played a couple seasons. Lance is significantly worse than Leaf simply because he hasn’t played. At all.
Trubinsky at least is a capable quarterback and while he never lived up to his draft status Trubinsky has proven to be a higher end back up QB. He wasn’t awful for the bears but he wasn’t the elite arm they needed to carry an offense. Complete passes, get a few TDs, limit turn overs. He’s a game manager which is a perfectly fine career.
All Lance has proven is he can’t stay healthy and can’t read basic defenses. You’d think all the time he’s spent injured he’d be studying film or something and learning. Clearly he hasn’t been for whatever reason.
I’ll give u all that but there’s plenty of QB’s who didn’t play for yrs like J. Love, A. Rodgers, and S. Young to name a few I just think it’s too soon to label him a bust
Why draft Parsons or Chase when you can have Trey Lance. We’ll done Shanahan
Because Shanahan can just magically fit players into his system…in his mind. Hey, why not draft an uber athletic physical specimen and coach him into a perfect player?
Shanahan’s not the first coach to think this way. Tons of coaches have, actually. Shanahan’s had a lot of success, unlike most of them. But I just for the life of me can’t understand why he doesn’t see that you can’t just magically make a player great because you yourself are smart. He’s obviously a good enough coach to come up with a successful and pretty consistently reliable scheme; but he just really trusts in it way too much when it comes to making adjustments or filling the roster. He’s had enough success, and success well-earned, to continue on every year. But that success also seems to justify his stubbornness in not altering his plug-and-play thinking. Much of this is, granted, my personal impressions from watching Shanahan over the years, and seeing a few similarities to how his father ran things (which didn’t go as well after losing some Hall of Fame and Ring of Honor type players later in Denver and in Washington).
Lynch has done a pretty great job in filling out the defense over the years. Many of the skill position picks on offense have been at the very worst pretty useful (the backs, McGlinchey before moving on, etc) or very good (Samuel, Kittle, and Aiyuk). Free agency has been mostly good (Juszcyzk, Garappolo, Ward). So it’s not like the 9ers are bad or incompetent. But they could be so much better if they weren’t so absolutely trusting in Shanahan’s scheme. What I am trying and likely failing to say is this: how good a player is individually matters. You can’t just “fit” any player into your scheme magically, no matter how good you think it is. That’s what happened with Lance.
Especially when WR and DL weren’t a pressing need.
From the 3rd overall pick to 3rd string? That’s a fall.
May be 4th if they kept 4…
Who backs up Purdy and darnold after the eagles knock both out.
Well, that didn’t go so well.
I truly wanted him to succeed and continue to shine light on FCS talent, but called this BUST from day 1.
So you don’t think he will follow Jimmy G to the Raiders and become the next Jim Plunkett?
I really wanted the Falcons to draft him over Pitts that year. Maybe now they can buy low. Lance still has more potential than Ridder in my opinion.
That I can see, but Ridder probably has a higher floor than Lance does. I don’t see Atlanta bailing on Ridder so soon. He will get at least a year, probably two, unless he plays quite awfully. This is, of course, describing a scenario where Ridder is not a success.
At least they didn’t give up much for him
I don’t consider a guy who has had so few games under his belt because of injury a bust. J. Russell, R. Leaf, Z. Wilson…they are busts. I get he hasn’t played and hasn’t given a return on investment, but I feel like to be a bust it has to be through bad play, not through no fault of your own.
You don’t give up what they did to draft him to have him take several “redshirt” years and then still be buried on the depth chart. That he continues to get nicked up and not out there playing doesn’t absolve him of judgment – he’s a bust any way you slice it.
Lance will never be anything. Might as well give up now. He never WAS anything either.
They needed 3 quarterbacks last year. Might as well just keep him on the bench as an emergency option. Definitely aren’t getting anything of value back in a trade.
I feel bad for the school North Dakota State now cause this guy and Wentz being the 2 qbs that got drafted, a guy could win Heisman there and might not be picked 1st round now even. Wentz was worth it during his rookie contract but is awful and shouldn’t be in the league now.
Wentz, in his defense, should have won MVP the year that the Eagles won the Super Bowl. The voting defaulted to Brady after his injury. (who in my opinion, had a less impressive season even with the extra two games).
Wentz had a good career, despite his current ineffectiveness. Like Lance, injuries really effected his career as well.
Wentz is a light lifter and a griper. If Anthony Rendon played in the NFL……..
I don’t know him so I won’t pretend to confirm or deny that, but Wentz did play well for a few years before going off the rails. Pederson also coached very poorly his last two years. That whole operation in Philly went sideways pretty quickly.
Wentz actually wasn’t bad in Indianapolis, either, when you look closer at it. His injuries and his confidence have really torpedoed his play since, but I really don’t see the point of hating the guy as fervently as most people seem to. I don’t think that Wentz is an average starter today, but he was a good quarterback at some point in the past. I can’t say that for Lance.
Rendon, ironically, also won a championship.
Went played MVP caliber play when healthy. And as for the knock on him he was injury prone, he shredded his knee and still played until they took his helmet away, played from college to pro with a stress fracture in his back, played his whole rookie season with rib fractures, and suffered a concussion on a cheap from Clowney. Wentz is certainly capable of being QB2 at the least.
Effing bs from a bs franchise who has a HC with a totally unearned massive ego. Fire Kyle
I am a huge niners fan, but i swear we have the worst fans in the NFL. Or at least the dumbest. People like @ geoffb1982 and whoever gave him a thumbs up.
Are you kidding? Fire shanahan? A top 5 nfl coach. For what, because they had the worst pick in nfl history? Who the hell cares. He has led the niners to a superbowl, 3 nfc championship games and they are a superbowl favorite this year. Have you already forgotten about how bad we were under Jim Tomsula, Chip Kelley, Mike Singelatary, Mike Nolan and Dennis Erickson? Shanahan took over the 2nd worst team in the nfl and took them to the superbowl in 2 seasons.
First off Shanahan reportedly wanted Mac Jones. Lynch and their staff wanted Trey Lance. Second, they still got their starting QB in the same draft class. Who cares if Purdy went in the 1st or Lance did. Third, lets bring up all of the draft gems the niners have under Lynch and Shanahan. NOBODY in the nfl has drafted more all pros in last 5 years then the niners. Deebo, bosa, warner, kittle and hufonga. Not to mention dre greenlaw, aiyuk and all of their defensive lineman who have exceeded expectations.
Why does our fanbase suck so damn much
soortznut, just remember these “fans” are a SMALL group. And not worth our angst. And just remember that fans like you and I are actually in a large majority. For example…look at HighAltitude. What does his username say? It says it all! So l know its difficult but we just have to ignore them. In fact, we in some weird way legitimize them by responding to them. And remember this, 31 teams passed 7 times on Purdy. SEVEN TIMES!! Whether it was Shanahan or Lynch that liked Purdy…it doesn’t matter. He’s a Niner and 31 teams (well, most of the 31) wish they’d drafted him. Niners are fine and loaded. Go NINERS!!
NFC being weak and Jimmy G. covered up a lot of his deficiencies as a coach. Jimmy was groomed by Belichick to take over for Brady. Shanahan reaped the benefit. Before he got there, they were going 5-11 and did similar the year after they made the Super Bowl when he got hurt again. All of this while he clearly hated the guy because he wanted his man crush Cousins. He’s blown two Super Bowl fourth quarter leads as an OC and HC because he regularly mismanages games.
You do know that Belichek won all those game because he cheated right? None of his proteges ever won anything. Not a single one. Tells you that his ‘system’ really did not win games.
Trey Lance for Zach Wilson. Fresh start for both and Wilson can check out the West Coast milf scene.
Why is anyone surprised Lance “hasn’t worked out” thus far for a Shanahan coached team?! Lance will probably be labeled “a bust” and offered very little, if any real future opportunity. Yet somehow, guys like Mayfield, McCown, Boyle, Keenum, etc., and on and on get numerous opportunities to be a NFL QB.
Typical NFL.
If you are the GM and head coach of the Bucs, would you rather have Mayfield or Lance as your staring QB going into this season?
You can’t answer this question without either revealing how little you know about football or by completely contradicting yourself.
Was Lance really given a fair opportunity in SF? I think not. Purdy is not a franchise QB. You’re right, Mayfield is a good “staring” QB. That’s why he’s overrated and throws all those INT’s.
It was Fields that Lynch wanted not Mac Jones
Every draftee is a bit of a gamble, but this guy was a gamble way beyond the norm – thus you have to wonder what they were smoking when they decided he was worth trading the farm for.
2 firsts ≠ farm dipsh**!
Go into a season with Sam Darnold as your backup to a guy coming off of major elbow surgery, lol. This is pure comedy.
I’m an ND State fan and I was 100% confused by all the hype that Lance received he didn’t carry the Bison the year they won the championship with him at QB he merely held the position. There is a definite lack of true scouting anymore…everyone seems to believe the media hype. Wentz was good when healthy and don’t forget Easton Stick is another Bison QB currently backing up Herbert in SD….but Lance was all media hype.
Not an NDSU fan, but that’s just ridiculous. Yes, the team had a lot of talent but he absolutely lit it up in 2019 on the way to a national championship and Walter Payton Award winner as FCS Player of the Year.
16GP 192 -287 66.9% 2786 yards 28TDs and 0 INTs.
169 carries 1100 yards and 14TDs
Would be selling so low, what could they realistically get? A 5th or 6th?