Quarterbacks who aren’t natural leaders sometimes need some help from the team. The 49ers gave some help to quarterback Trey Lance, at a time when they were potentially undermining him.
Jay Glazer of Fox reported on Sunday that, on the same day the 49ers decided to keep Jimmy Garoppolo as the understudy to Lance, coach Kyle Shanahan and G.M. John Lynch gathered 15 team leaders and made an urgent plea.
“Guys, we need your support here,” they said, per Glazer. “We’ve got to make sure that you get Trey’s back. Because there’s gonna be some bumpy roads ahead. We’ve got to make sure with every incompletion, every interception, that people aren’t clamoring to move on to Jimmy. We’ve got to make sure we have your support. Do we have it?”
Per Glazer, none of the 15 team leaders hesitated. But what other choice did they have? Were they going to say, “No, we reserve the right to support Jimmy”?
The mere fact that Shanahan and Lynch needed to make the request shows that they fear things could get shaky for Lance, especially with Garoppolo back on the team. Despite his bizarre habit of not returning texts or calls, the players still love Garoppolo. If Lynch struggles, they may love him even more.