Trey Lance may ultimately be the quarterback of the future for the San Francisco 49ers.
Jimmy Garoppolo is still the quarterback of the now.
Via Ben Ross of the Associated Press, head coach Kyle Shanahan stated clearly on Tuesday that Garoppolo enters training camp with the 49ers as their starting under center.
”There’s no open competition right now in terms of getting equal reps with the same group,” Shanahan said. “Jimmy is coming in as the (No.) 1 and Trey is coming in as the 2.”
As the team has said repeatedly, Garoppolo has shown to be a solid starting quarterback when he’s been able to play. It’s just been the lack of availability due to injuries during his three-plus seasons with the 49ers that have been the biggest issue for Garoppolo.
“Jimmy’s a very good player,” Shanahan said. “And when Jimmy’s at the top of his game, I told him this back when we made the trade: ‘There’s no rookie that’s going to just come in here right away and take your job if you’re at the top of your game.'”
Lance, the No. 3 overall pick in this spring’s NFL Draft, has yet to reach an agreement on his rookie contract with the 49ers as they get set to open training camp on Wednesday. Lance being unable to practice at the outset of camp due to a lack of a deal would be another reason for Garoppolo to lead the way into the season.
“He’s our best quarterback in the building right now, so he’ll start out training camp that way and we’ve got three other guys behind him. We’re going to give Trey the first chance, obviously, as the backup,” Shanahan said.