Kyle Shanahan would be ‘very surprised’ if Trey Lance was 49ers Week 1 starter

The San Francisco 49ers are a week into training camp, and rookie quarterback Trey Lance is turning heads. The 49ers traded two future first round picks to draft Lance as their quarterback of the future, and he has hit the ground running in training camp.

But is it enough to supplant incumbent starter Jimmy Garoppolo as the 49ers starter for Week 1 when the 49ers travel to face the Detroit Lions? Kyle Shanahan wants to pump the brakes on that notion.

The 49ers head coach spoke to the media on Monday and attempted to lower expectations. He acknowledged Lance has played well and had one of his better days over the weekend. However, Shanahan did not think it was enough to move him up the depth chart or start talking about Garoppolo as a guy in danger of losing his job right now.

Lance is the guy the 49ers expect to take over at some point, but with a roster built to compete for a Super Bowl now, the team is willing to take its time. And while Garoppolo has not been able to stay consistently healthy while also struggling to make all the necessary plays in Shanahan’s offense, he is a guy who helped guide the 49ers to a Super Bowl appearance two years ago.

Shanahan spoke acknowledged it would take something fairly drastic for Lance to be starting when Week 1 comes around.

I mean, I just think to look a lot better than the guy who’s been playing for a while and done everything in practice and in three preseason games where you’re not playing in all the games. And I think that would be pretty tough to do so I’m not trying to put that pressure on Trey. But I mean anybody who can pull stuff off, I mean, you’re going to see it that way. Jimmy has played too good, a football. He is too good of a player and Trey’s trying to learn everything right now and soak it all in. So that’s why I’d be very surprised if he was able to do that.”

You can still wager on Trey Lance to be the 49ers starting quarterback Week 1 over at DraftKings Sportsbook. Lance taking the first snap of the 49ers regular season schedule this year is installed at +225, while not taking the first snap is -300. There’s still three preseason games and plenty of practice, so if you think Shanahan is just trying to slow-play this, there is still some value on Lance.