The San Francisco 49ers have a lot of things working in their favor as they enter the 2025 season. Kyle Shanahan is one of the best head coaches in the league, star quarterback Brock Purdy recently put pen to paper on a five-year, $265 million contract extension, and while injuries continue to hit the team hard, they have a plethora of talent on both sides of the ball.
And yet, for all the hits the team has enjoyed in recent years, there have been some misses, too. Perhaps the most glaring of the bunch is Trey Lance, who was selected by San Francisco with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Now with the Los Angeles Chargers, Lance has enjoyed a strong start to the preseason, leading to a strong message from Shanahan.
Kyle Shanahan Issues Message of Support to Trey Lance
The Niners selected Lance in the 2021 draft with the hope that he’d become their quarterback of the future. And yet, he only took the field in eight total games during his time with San Francisco. As a rookie, he largely sat behind Jimmy Garoppolo, and when he earned the starting job in 2022, he played in just two games before he suffered a season-ending ankle injury. Eventually, Purdy took over under center, and the rest is history.
Purdy solidifying himself as San Francisco’s starting quarterback made Lance expendable, and he ended up getting traded to the Dallas Cowboys ahead of the 2023 season. Again, he played sparingly for the Cowboys, acting as a backup to Dak Prescott during his two seasons with the team.
This offseason, Lance signed with the Chargers for a shot to earn their backup quarterback gig. While he initially faced long odds to beat out Taylor Heinicke for the job, Lance has thrown for nearly 300 total yards in the team’s three preseason contests. It looks like Lance may finally be finding his way, and while things didn’t work out for him with the 49ers, Shanahan revealed he’s still rooting for the former North Dakota State Bison star to succeed in the NFL.
“The more he practices, the more he works, he’s only going to get better, so I expect to see him like that when I watch him,” Shanahan said of Lance. “I’m pulling for Trey, I love Trey. One of the best people I’ve been around and I really hope it works out for him.”
Kyle Shanahan Looking to Get 49ers Back on Track in 2025
Ian Maule/Getty ImagesKyle Shanahan’s 49ers are expected to improve in 2025.
Just one year after making it all the way to the Super Bowl, the 49ers crumbled in 2024, thanks in large part to a slew of injuries they suffered throughout the season. While they are once again banged up heading into the 2025 campaign, there’s reason to believe that Shanahan and company can right the ship this season.
There’s no doubt that San Francisco struck out on their decision to draft Lance, but it ended up leading them to Purdy, so in the end, everything worked out for them. There’s no doubt things didn’t go as planned, but Purdy has proven he can lead this team to a Super Bowl, while Lance is just looking to prove he belongs in the pros.
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