The 49ers saw their Trey Lance conundrum encapsulated in two throws
The 49ers have seen plenty to like from Trey Lance during his third training camp with the team, but the former third overall pick continues to display some concerning habits as he battles with Sam Darnold for San Francisco's backup quarterback job. Lance split the second and third-team reps with Darnold during Thursday's practice and […]
The 49ers have seen plenty to like from Trey Lance during his third training camp with the team, but the former third overall pick continues to display some concerning habits as he battles with Sam Darnold for San Francisco's backup quarterback job.
Lance split the second and third-team reps with Darnold during Thursday's practice and produced one of the throws of the day.
He delivered a superbly accurate throw to Tay Martin running a 15-yard out, hitting the wide receiver on a ball that demonstrated both the strength of his arm and how impressive he can look when he delivers the ball on time.
Yet as well as having arguably the best throw of the day, he had another that was in conversation for the worst.
Lance was intercepted by rookie linebacker Dee Winters, a standout in camp, throwing the ball straight at the sixth-round pick in a distinct failure of processing.
Kyle Shanahan said of that interception: "[Lance] Just tried to throw it over the hooker and got under it. So, one day it’s a high low and he was too deep and he wanted the deep throw and he’s got to check it down."
There had been some conjecture about the 49ers potentially parting with Lance to make room on the roster for Brandon Allen, San Francisco's fourth quarterback who has performed well in camp.
The fact Allen did not get a single rep in the team period on Thursday would appear to suggest such a scenario is unlikely.
But it was a session that illustrated the conundrum the 49ers face with Lance. He's had limited opportunities to overcome mistakes and learn from them in a game. As a result, he still has a penchant for errors akin to his interception to Winters. On top of that, Lance's work in the short game still leaves a lot to be desired.
However, pushing the ball downfield, there is no San Francisco quarterback who possesses his upside.
The decision the 49ers will have to come to is whether they are happy to have a No. 2 quarterback with whom they may have to sacrifice consistency and mistake-free football for big-play upside. Given the Niners' injury history at the game's most important position, it's a call they can ill-afford to get wrong.
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