Criticism of Trey Lance has mounted in the wake of his underwhelming preseason performance against the Raiders. Kyle Shanahan is not surprised, but the 49ers head coach continues to publicly support the quarterback, praising the manner in which Lance handles such scrutiny.

Lance produced an underwhelming display last Sunday at Las Vegas, appearing extremely hesitant to deliver the ball into seemingly open windows and going close to throwing two interceptions, including one that turned into a touchdown as Ross Dwelley scooped up a deflection in the endzone.

Shanahan defended Lance for that throw in the immediate aftermath of the game and, when asked about the attention on the 2021 third overall pick, he provided a similarly supportive answer.

Speaking to reporters after Wednesday's practice, Shanahan said:

"It [the negativity] just goes with the territory. It goes with it for quarterbacks, it goes with it for anybody who’s a high draft pick, but especially a quarterback. That’s one of the tough things I think for that position, but also for high draft picks. You watch receivers come in the league and they have a few drops early in camp and there becomes a lot of pressure on them. People want to see those people take off and do it right away and have no flaws and that’s just part of it. Trey is extremely smart, very socially aware. He knows how the world works. And so, he does his best, which I think he does a damn good job of trying to block all that out and just focus on getting better. And I think that’s what he has done so far."

Lance's smarts were one of the primary reasons why the 49ers selected him after trading three first-round picks to move up in the 2021 draft.

Their belief that his intangibles could propel him to becoming a premier starting quarterback in the NFL has yet to be realized, with injuries robbing him opportunities to get reps and develop.

Now, with Brock Purdy emerging and making the starting quarterback job his own, it's highly questionable whether Lance will ever get the chance to vindicate San Francisco's faith in his physical and mental abilities.

However, it's clear the coach who signed off on his selection will continue to back him up as the negativity around one of the biggest decisions in franchise history increases.

49ers stock watch after the opening week of preseason

It wasn’t bad for everyone in the loss to the Raiders.

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