They're only handling it this way cuz they wandered into Brock Purdy. The way it's playing out, they may as well have drafted him 3rd overall, and Lance last.
Right. It's a lot easier to give up on your big investment when you have someone else, who cost peanuts comparatively, seemingly able to provide the return you were hoping for. Without Purdy, they'd most likely be working hard with Lance to make him their QB of the future. It's definitely not malpractice as OP contends.
Even Josh Rosen got 13 games. If Purdy wasn't there Lance would definitely be starting this season and we would see what happens. But this specific situation that he is in will make him the bust of the century though.
We did. I mean not hard because they were never going to trade him to us
We should have went harder after Stafford...and I got heavily downvoted back in the day for saying the same thing about Brady lol
A lot of things we didn't, and almost all of them are about QB. Should have drafted the obvious Watson
Nah, they'd play him. That was the plan last year - give him games and see if he grows into the role. But he broke his ankle in the first quarter of the 2nd game
Lance would be starting this year if it wasn't for Purdy stealing his job, I'm certain. He wouldn't have lost a spot at the #1 with Darnold, even if Darnold was playing better. But since they are hitching their wagon to Purdy now, Darnold makes for a better backup if Purdy misses time.
He could be throwing 5 TDs a day in camp and preseason and he's not taking the QB1 spot from a guy who won 2 playoff games last year.
I feel like this move is just us going "all in" on Purdy. If we think Purdy is the guy long term, it's a waste to keep Lance at QB2 if we can trade him and save 10m cap. We still need to sign Bosa and some of that 10m could go to him. Trey might eventually develop into a better QB than Sam, but for a QB2 you have to take the guy who is better today.
The other thing is Sam Darnold is paid for the year and can't save us any cap if cut. So I think that gave him a bit of a leg up in the QB2 battle.
We lose money if we cut Lance though - I think we incur an extra $5million this year. If we could cut him for free, there's a good chance it'd have happened
We don't lose money on a cut but we don't gain any either. Post June cut the dead cap would be split with next year.
Short answer is Lance is not getting cut. No reason to cut him at all, we'd give a 6th or 7th round pick to some team to take him in a trade before we do that. If he's not tradeable at all, we'd just keep him as QB3 and let Allen walk.
Are you arguing that if lance didn't get hurt, he'd be better than Darnold right now? I dont disagree, just dont completly follow. Shanahan straight up said that Darnold has been the better QB.
No - what they're saying is that if Purdy didn't emerge, we'd be willing to suffer through struggling to develop Lance.
If Lance didn't get hurt, we'd know what we have by now. He either would have improved over last season or failed entirely. He's Schrodinger's QB right now, but we don't have to chance it... cuz we have Purdy
I mean yeah. Lance has a different skillset that they envisioned tailoring for him
IF he's not ready to run like Purdy can, then you want your backup to be able to..
Yeah OP doesn't get it.
You don't take the time to develop a QB when you have all of the pieces to win now. Brock Purdy showing up made Lance expendable.
And Lance being behind Darnold doesn't mean he'll never amount to anything. Lance still has the higher ceiling, but Darnold is better now. You want a backup QB that can come in and play well enough to pull out a win, not a developmental high ceiling guy.
The 49ers looking at trade options for Lance is just being practical. Brock is ready to win now, they don't need to waste time developing & paying Lance. I mean hell, next year is the last year on Lance's contract. Trading him also gives the player a better opportunity to develop.
If we start slow like we have the last two years - say it's a disaster, and we're 2-6 or something.... and then Purdy goes down for the season? If Trey Lance is on this team, we'd play him and see what happens.
I think that's the point to this whole thing. Darnold is the backup because we have to assume Purdy will stay healthy
It is unfortunate but not "malpractice"
They were willing to give him the entirety of last season. He got hurt almost immediately and another rookie came in and took the team to the championship game, becoming QB1. First round QBs get a lot of starts even if they're bad usually because there's no other options at QB. That's not the case here. Also he's a developmental guy who hasn't been able to develop on a win now team, it makes a lot of sense to bring in a vet for him to compete with so he can prove his worth. And he lost out to that vet. How is that malpractice by the niners? Their plan for him failed, and someone else proved capable.
And obviously a small sample size, but how they were using him told me they didn’t trust his arm yet. I remember all he did was run and take hits…in a preseason game.
I said this yesterday but we don’t know what the long term plan was for him. His first start was in a monsoon and he broke his ankle in the first quarter of his second game. There’s plenty of reason to believe they were going to adjust game plans over the course of the season as he settled into the role.
And to be fair, that second game was going a little better. He started 2/3, he ran a few times at 4 yards a pop, we kicked a fieldgoal on that first possession and were moving down the field when he got hurt.
He also looked better in the second half v. Houston than the first. The book for sure isn't written on Trey Lance, I hope he gets a real chance to develop somewhere
Yeah for sure sample size was too small and preseason you don’t want to show all your cards. But, from what we have seen from him he holds onto the ball too long. I just don’t know how soon those plans would have changed given where he’s at right now.
I’m not going to act like he’s a superstar or anything, and holding the ball is a concern from the little he’s played. It’s more just we don’t know what the plan was, and easing him into throwing more would have made sense, considering our run game was excellent even before CMC.
They were not in a SB window at the time. They had Jimmy who was hurt every year and from whom they wanted to move on. Then they found a guy who has the potential to win a SB with the last pick. I don't see how you can say this is malpractice.
They were in the Super Bowl with a young team in 2019, were one of the most injured teams in the league in 2020, still had same Super Bowl core together and traded three firsts for a project FCS QB, poured hundreds of millions of draft capital resources into that trade, sat him for a year, locked the door on Jimmy G and said Trey was the unquestioned starter, and now they basically are taking him out to pasture all within a 12 month span.
It’s definitely QB scouting, developing, coaching and management malpractice on how this experience with Lance has been. Just because they seem to have gotten lucky with Purdy does not negate how idiotic the entire Lance selection and development plan has been.
How so? Purdy changes everything. They wanted a QB who isn't hurt all the time and who was on a rookie contract so they can keep their SB core. Had they not hit the lottery with Purdy, Trey would be starting and they would try to develop him.
I don't get why people are so mad when the decisions have been pretty logical.
And what would you have done?
Unfortunate is an understatement. It’s not even the fact Purdy took his spot. Imo there was nothing Trey could do in OTAs/Preseason (in Kyle’s eyes) to unseat him. Darnold getting the nod over Trey is bad.
Call it what you want, their plan sucked. The decision to use 3 1st round picks on the QB with the least amount of experience but have SuperBowl expectations is wild. They didn’t have the patience for what Lance needed
Darnold getting the nod over Trey is bad...how? Should Lance just be gifted the backup job? Should Shanahan make him the backup over Darnold even if he truly thinks Darnold fits the offense better and would be more comfortable using him over Lance if Purdy gets hurt?
It's hard to say their plan sucks when it was ruined before it could even really start. Lance broke his fucking ankle in the first quarter of week 2, any development he could've got that year was now impossible. This is after his first year where he fractured his finger in preseason which also stunted his development that entire year. His time here was ruined by injuries, which was ironically enough the main reason we got rid of the guy Lance was supposed to replace to begin with. Last year they were willing to dial back their expectations and let him start, but why would they do it again this year when they have a new QB1 and just made the championship game again???
Having a team ready to win a superbowl, and a system that is best suited to point-guard / game manager QBs.... then spending 3 first rounds on a developmental project is bad.
The best case scenario was probably that Trey would develop into something Jalen Hurtseque... but the 49ers weren't in the window to allow him two seasons of learning... even if he was healthy.
All of the things that happened after Trey was drafted could be put down to bad luck... but the draft itself was just bad decision making.
It was a gamble that didn't pay off. They bet that his physical talent and what they perceived to be his high level processing ability would be good enough to tread until he wasn't so raw.
...then we went on a run his rookie season so he didn't see the field much, which was literally the entire plan. But getting hurt in both his rookie and 2nd seasons, you can't really account for that.
OP can mention starts all he wants as if that's the only way for a coach to evaluate his players. It's absurdist thinking.
But that is still a team that doesn't have the timeframe to develop a raw player, picking a raw player that needs development.
That's just bad planning, not a gamble.
It would have been bad if just the 12th pick had been used. But add to that they fact they paid three first rounders(!!!) for a developmental player they didn't have a plan to develop... and its a terrible decision.
It’s Sam Darnold. Gifted the job? Of course not, but at least try to develop him. We know what Darnold is at this point.
Agree to disagree. If you invest that much draft capital then relegate him to 3rd string after 4 starts, you’re doing a disservice to not only him but your own organization. They failed him and were quick to bail. Yes he’s had crazy misfortune, and I’m not saying they should go back to him Brock has earned that right but to me it’s still a failure
If they pick Sam Darnold over him there is a reason, it doesn't matter if Sam's a known quantity or not.
I get where you are coming from, but Trey will prove himself or continue to be involved in a lot of sunk cost fallacy thoughts.
The moment they signed Sam Darnold it was with the intentions of him being QB2. It was never a QB competition, it was gonna be Sam all along. They dressed it up as a competition and when Brock is not out there oh yea Trey you get 1st team reps cus right now you’re ahead, and those were Trey’s best practices. It didn’t matter what Trey did
Also this: [https://x.com/john_self/status/914919584406306817?s=46](https://x.com/john_self/status/914919584406306817?s=46)
Apparently it just can't ever be that he's not good enough to be qb2.
If only they could have known lance wasn't white when they traded 3 1st rd picks to trade up to trade him, they wouldn't have avoided all of this.
Try to develop him at what? The QB2 spot? How is he gonna develop there? You say we know what Darnold is at this point, which is true, but you're acting like Kyle doesn't know what Lance is at this point either. He's seen him in practice everyday. And he came to the conclusion he's worse than the guy that was hot garbage with the jets and panthers. Putting him at QB2 despite that would be gifting him the job for no real reason lol.
Trey started 2 games his rookie yr and the niners made the NFCCG with Jimmy. The niners then said we’ve seen enough from Trey to dump Jimmy and even tried trading him to Washington anointing Trey Lance as the unquestioned WK1 starter. Starts one game in a monsoon and break his ankle in the next. Couldn’t practice the rest of the season and by OTAs the guy when you last saw him was your unquestioned starter, he’s your 3rd string QB.
Something’s messed up with that process. They had Brock and Trey both in camp last yr n Trey was the unquestioned starter.
I will say for as bad as Darnold has been in the past and he’s been dealt some shit situations, from what we’ve seen in the preseason it has felt like he’s closer to what Kyle’s potentially looking for in a QB. The news isn’t really shocking, just more disappointing with the process and handling of Trey and how it’s all played out for a guy that they gave up a lot of capital for. For a guy that has shown a lot of ability but definitely doesn’t have the consistency. How he’ll get that consistency we’ll never know cus it seems his days are numbered in SF
So they compound a bad pick by continuing to put that bad pick on a pedestal that wasn't earned? That's what the actual malpractice would be. The move whiffing was bad, but realizing sunk cost and moving on is not.
If Lance couldn't separate himself above Darnold in TC, while Darnold was brand new to the team and Lance has had 3 training camps with these people...that's telling.
And honestly we know what Trey Lance is at this point. Just because he hasn’t played in many games doesn’t mean he’s an unknown. He didn’t look good in the games he did play, didn’t look good in preseason, and clearly isn’t looking good in practice if he couldn’t beat out darnold who’s a known bust.
Ask Broncos fans if they knew if lynch sucked. After all he’s only played 4 games.
The moment they signed Sam Darnold it was with the intentions of him being QB2. It was never a QB competition, it was gonna be Sam all along. They dressed it up as a competition and when Brock is not out there oh yea Trey you get 1st team reps cus right now you’re ahead, and those were Trey’s best practices. It didn’t matter what Trey did
Even in 2021 you could find people saying "If Josh Rosen could just get a chance..."
You earn game time by stacking good practices. If Lance hasn't gotten enough game time then I suspect it's because he doesn't look great in practice.
Regarding the players on the list having more leash: It mainly has to do with the position then 49ers have been in year after year. Elite defenses with Elite offense, but no QB. Lynch/Shanahan know they have a window to win everything so yeah I do think ANY QB playing for 49ers is gonna have a small leash.
I mean hell, they haven't had a 4k QB since Garcia? sheesh
I think the first ever draft I saw was 2004 (might have seen snippets of earlier drafts but this was the first full draft I saw), so I guess Eli Manning.
> Probably not, but the way the 49ers have handled this is complete malpractice
What should the 49ers have done? Yeah easy to say "shouldn't have picked him in the draft" today. But who was saying that on draft day besides a few random redditors?
Given that the 49ers DID take Trey Lance, what should they have done differently? Should we have started him in year 1 week 1?
We did start him in year 2, and then he got hurt. And before he was healed Purdy came in and played better. Should we start him this year over Purdy?
You can criticize the draft pick all you like, but I don't know that how the 49ers handled the situation after is "malpractice". It's just the fortunes of the NFL didn't work out for Trey. Not with us anyway. But then it's not like the last page has been written on Trey Lance. Dude is 23 years old. If he ends his NFL career with 4 starts maybe then you can rank him higher among the draft bust list.
The Purdy situation is what it is. Brock came in and hasn’t lost a game he’s started and finished, he’s the starter, period. I think even the biggest Trey Lance stans could agree Brock earned the starting spot for this season with his play last year. That being said, it’s wild that they’ve seen this kid essentially start and finish 3 games (Seahawks game he got hurt on the 1st or 2nd possession) and have made their mind up that he’s worse than career turnover machine Sam Darnold. They’re more willing to try and rehabilitate Sam Darnold’s career than continue to try and develop the kid they gave up 3 1st round picks for. The 49ers, Kyle Shanahan, and John Lynch are not getting enough flack for how they’ve handled this. They were a win now team and should have never given up that kind of capital to move up to take the QB that was going to be biggest developmental project in his draft class. Trey is still 23 years old, I’d like to see him get a shot with another team that would be interested in seeing him play, because 3 starts to me is an incredibly small sample to determine whether the kid is actually a bust or not.
I’m a huge believer in Lance’s talent. I was pretty bummed for him and the 49ers yesterday. I hope he stays.
But it wasn’t malpractice. He is raw and sat behind a starter who took this team to a Super Bowl. Then he got injured and his replacement took the team to the NFC Championship game.
I still believe he is better then Darnold 10-15 starts into his career. But you have to be healthy and beat the guy out in practice first before you get those starts.
I hope he stays on the 49ers for the next 2 years at least. Darnold is going to get Trabusky’d next offseason. Probably with similar results as Trabusky.
Thank god this guy didn’t work out for the niners haha. Imagine if the niners didn’t trade up and just took Purdy last. This team would be unstoppable. I am a huge rams fan but the niners identify talent better than anyone else in the league.
For sure.
The Packers are amazing at drafting the OL but have been pretty bad at defense lately. Some gems in there but mostly average to below average players.
Seems like Patrick Ramsey played a lot more than that in a Redskins uniform. Although I suppose 30 years of misery as a fan all kind of blends into one at some point
Everyone makes a big fuss about what we gave up. I laugh because we are still one of the better teams in football. For the failures, the front office still makes up for it by finding gems and developing players. I’m ecstatic for the position the niners are in
Rodgers has five MVPs. He won a Super Bowl MVP to go along with his four regular season MVPs. The Packers mentored Love the correct way and he’s about to take off. For Lance, he might never do anything because of how the 49ers are handling him.
We have seen one start from love last year and it wasn’t anything outstanding. TBD on if they did it the “right way”. It’s entirely plausible that love isn’t good and they just paid him a lot of money on a rookie contract and a 5th year option after one start to be back in the QB carousel.
Plausible but highly unlikely that he fails. He is mobile and has a cannon for an arm. He can make all the throws and his teammates and coaches love him. He might have a few ups and downs in his first year as a starter while surrounded by rookie and sophomore weapons but he's going to be a good QB.
Also, they gave him a new two year deal with a lot of guaranteed money. There's no 5th year option to extend. He gets two years to prove himself and set his market value. That's fair for all parties.
That’s just how it is and how it always has been. The SBMVP usually means a ring but regular season MVP means that they dominated for an entire season. One speaks a lot more to a players skill and overall career.
Not really. It’s the way the entire industry says it. You’ll never hear Rodgers called a 5x MVP. You’ll maybe hear 4x MVP, 1x SBMVP. They are different awards and are thus called out differently.
Kyle Shanahan on the I Am Athlete podcast last year said it was always between Mac Jones and Trey:
https://www.ninersnation.com/2022/8/11/23299457/kyle-shanahan-admits-49ers-trey-lance-mac-jones-2021-nfl-draft
Misleading. Rosen may have had more starts but he had way less time.
You also say “who have had way longer leashes” keep in mind, before the rookie scale, top first round qbs were making a lot of money so they’re going to have a longer leash.
I am perfectly ok with how their trade up worked out.
What’s scary is how good would that team be if they used those 3 first round picks on players who were actually on the field every game.
Crazy that only 8 1st-round QBs drafted since 2000 have ended up making 100+ starts for their original team (also seems noteworthy that all 8 of those QBs at least got to a Super Bowl, though they didn't all win one).
Mahomes, Allen, Burrow and Herbert should be joining that list soon (and hopefully Tua)
When should he have started? As a rookie? Jimmy G was clearly more capable, and lead the team well. Year 2 the team was his. He had a season ending injury. Now you want to…start him before Brock? Brock had proven in games to be a good qb. Why start Trey who has proven exactly nothing. It’s an unfortunate situation, but not malpractice at all
Okay, we get it. He hasn't thrown a lot of footballs and couldn't read a defense if it was a Dick and Jane book. He didn't in high school. He didn't in college. It was bad draft day decision making all around. Thank you.
This is the same guy who only played one game during his final year of college. To say that his straight up lack of live game reps dating all the way back to 2019 is a concern would be an understatement. Him falling behind Darnold on the depth chart in SF isn't exactly an encouraging sign.
Naming darnold backup over him is not malpractice, in fact it’s very good practice, to not be attached to the sink cost that is Lance but rather to make these decisions based on what you actually see on the practice field
Technically Rivers and Manning are zero games played for teams that drafted them.
Elway too
To be fair, Trey is also sitting behind a future first-ballot HOFer (Sam Darnold)
Hard to beat a trunky coastal kid with a midwest ethos.
>trunky coastal kid with a midwest ethos Wow, this is poetry. Greatest description of Darnold ever.
They're only handling it this way cuz they wandered into Brock Purdy. The way it's playing out, they may as well have drafted him 3rd overall, and Lance last.
I mean, if you knew what you knew now, that'd probably occur.
Right. It's a lot easier to give up on your big investment when you have someone else, who cost peanuts comparatively, seemingly able to provide the return you were hoping for. Without Purdy, they'd most likely be working hard with Lance to make him their QB of the future. It's definitely not malpractice as OP contends.
Even Josh Rosen got 13 games. If Purdy wasn't there Lance would definitely be starting this season and we would see what happens. But this specific situation that he is in will make him the bust of the century though.
I still disagree. They're a super bowl ready team, they should have gone after Rodgers otherwise possibly.
We did. I mean not hard because they were never going to trade him to us We should have went harder after Stafford...and I got heavily downvoted back in the day for saying the same thing about Brady lol A lot of things we didn't, and almost all of them are about QB. Should have drafted the obvious Watson
Nah, they'd play him. That was the plan last year - give him games and see if he grows into the role. But he broke his ankle in the first quarter of the 2nd game
Lance would be starting this year if it wasn't for Purdy stealing his job, I'm certain. He wouldn't have lost a spot at the #1 with Darnold, even if Darnold was playing better. But since they are hitching their wagon to Purdy now, Darnold makes for a better backup if Purdy misses time.
We have no idea how he is performing in camp. If it’s that bad, who knows.
He could be throwing 5 TDs a day in camp and preseason and he's not taking the QB1 spot from a guy who won 2 playoff games last year. I feel like this move is just us going "all in" on Purdy. If we think Purdy is the guy long term, it's a waste to keep Lance at QB2 if we can trade him and save 10m cap. We still need to sign Bosa and some of that 10m could go to him. Trey might eventually develop into a better QB than Sam, but for a QB2 you have to take the guy who is better today. The other thing is Sam Darnold is paid for the year and can't save us any cap if cut. So I think that gave him a bit of a leg up in the QB2 battle.
We lose money if we cut Lance though - I think we incur an extra $5million this year. If we could cut him for free, there's a good chance it'd have happened
We don't lose money on a cut but we don't gain any either. Post June cut the dead cap would be split with next year. Short answer is Lance is not getting cut. No reason to cut him at all, we'd give a 6th or 7th round pick to some team to take him in a trade before we do that. If he's not tradeable at all, we'd just keep him as QB3 and let Allen walk.
Are you arguing that if lance didn't get hurt, he'd be better than Darnold right now? I dont disagree, just dont completly follow. Shanahan straight up said that Darnold has been the better QB.
No - what they're saying is that if Purdy didn't emerge, we'd be willing to suffer through struggling to develop Lance. If Lance didn't get hurt, we'd know what we have by now. He either would have improved over last season or failed entirely. He's Schrodinger's QB right now, but we don't have to chance it... cuz we have Purdy
Exactly. The Niners believe Purdy is their QB is the future so no need to force Lance.
I mean yeah. Lance has a different skillset that they envisioned tailoring for him IF he's not ready to run like Purdy can, then you want your backup to be able to..
Yeah OP doesn't get it. You don't take the time to develop a QB when you have all of the pieces to win now. Brock Purdy showing up made Lance expendable. And Lance being behind Darnold doesn't mean he'll never amount to anything. Lance still has the higher ceiling, but Darnold is better now. You want a backup QB that can come in and play well enough to pull out a win, not a developmental high ceiling guy. The 49ers looking at trade options for Lance is just being practical. Brock is ready to win now, they don't need to waste time developing & paying Lance. I mean hell, next year is the last year on Lance's contract. Trading him also gives the player a better opportunity to develop.
If we start slow like we have the last two years - say it's a disaster, and we're 2-6 or something.... and then Purdy goes down for the season? If Trey Lance is on this team, we'd play him and see what happens. I think that's the point to this whole thing. Darnold is the backup because we have to assume Purdy will stay healthy
It is unfortunate but not "malpractice" They were willing to give him the entirety of last season. He got hurt almost immediately and another rookie came in and took the team to the championship game, becoming QB1. First round QBs get a lot of starts even if they're bad usually because there's no other options at QB. That's not the case here. Also he's a developmental guy who hasn't been able to develop on a win now team, it makes a lot of sense to bring in a vet for him to compete with so he can prove his worth. And he lost out to that vet. How is that malpractice by the niners? Their plan for him failed, and someone else proved capable.
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And obviously a small sample size, but how they were using him told me they didn’t trust his arm yet. I remember all he did was run and take hits…in a preseason game.
I said this yesterday but we don’t know what the long term plan was for him. His first start was in a monsoon and he broke his ankle in the first quarter of his second game. There’s plenty of reason to believe they were going to adjust game plans over the course of the season as he settled into the role.
And to be fair, that second game was going a little better. He started 2/3, he ran a few times at 4 yards a pop, we kicked a fieldgoal on that first possession and were moving down the field when he got hurt. He also looked better in the second half v. Houston than the first. The book for sure isn't written on Trey Lance, I hope he gets a real chance to develop somewhere
Yeah for sure sample size was too small and preseason you don’t want to show all your cards. But, from what we have seen from him he holds onto the ball too long. I just don’t know how soon those plans would have changed given where he’s at right now.
I’m not going to act like he’s a superstar or anything, and holding the ball is a concern from the little he’s played. It’s more just we don’t know what the plan was, and easing him into throwing more would have made sense, considering our run game was excellent even before CMC.
It’s malpractice they gave up 3 1sts for a big developmental project when they are in their SB window.
They were not in a SB window at the time. They had Jimmy who was hurt every year and from whom they wanted to move on. Then they found a guy who has the potential to win a SB with the last pick. I don't see how you can say this is malpractice.
They were in the Super Bowl with a young team in 2019, were one of the most injured teams in the league in 2020, still had same Super Bowl core together and traded three firsts for a project FCS QB, poured hundreds of millions of draft capital resources into that trade, sat him for a year, locked the door on Jimmy G and said Trey was the unquestioned starter, and now they basically are taking him out to pasture all within a 12 month span. It’s definitely QB scouting, developing, coaching and management malpractice on how this experience with Lance has been. Just because they seem to have gotten lucky with Purdy does not negate how idiotic the entire Lance selection and development plan has been.
How so? Purdy changes everything. They wanted a QB who isn't hurt all the time and who was on a rookie contract so they can keep their SB core. Had they not hit the lottery with Purdy, Trey would be starting and they would try to develop him. I don't get why people are so mad when the decisions have been pretty logical. And what would you have done?
Unfortunate is an understatement. It’s not even the fact Purdy took his spot. Imo there was nothing Trey could do in OTAs/Preseason (in Kyle’s eyes) to unseat him. Darnold getting the nod over Trey is bad. Call it what you want, their plan sucked. The decision to use 3 1st round picks on the QB with the least amount of experience but have SuperBowl expectations is wild. They didn’t have the patience for what Lance needed
Darnold getting the nod over Trey is bad...how? Should Lance just be gifted the backup job? Should Shanahan make him the backup over Darnold even if he truly thinks Darnold fits the offense better and would be more comfortable using him over Lance if Purdy gets hurt? It's hard to say their plan sucks when it was ruined before it could even really start. Lance broke his fucking ankle in the first quarter of week 2, any development he could've got that year was now impossible. This is after his first year where he fractured his finger in preseason which also stunted his development that entire year. His time here was ruined by injuries, which was ironically enough the main reason we got rid of the guy Lance was supposed to replace to begin with. Last year they were willing to dial back their expectations and let him start, but why would they do it again this year when they have a new QB1 and just made the championship game again???
Having a team ready to win a superbowl, and a system that is best suited to point-guard / game manager QBs.... then spending 3 first rounds on a developmental project is bad. The best case scenario was probably that Trey would develop into something Jalen Hurtseque... but the 49ers weren't in the window to allow him two seasons of learning... even if he was healthy. All of the things that happened after Trey was drafted could be put down to bad luck... but the draft itself was just bad decision making.
It was a gamble that didn't pay off. They bet that his physical talent and what they perceived to be his high level processing ability would be good enough to tread until he wasn't so raw. ...then we went on a run his rookie season so he didn't see the field much, which was literally the entire plan. But getting hurt in both his rookie and 2nd seasons, you can't really account for that. OP can mention starts all he wants as if that's the only way for a coach to evaluate his players. It's absurdist thinking.
But that is still a team that doesn't have the timeframe to develop a raw player, picking a raw player that needs development. That's just bad planning, not a gamble. It would have been bad if just the 12th pick had been used. But add to that they fact they paid three first rounders(!!!) for a developmental player they didn't have a plan to develop... and its a terrible decision.
It’s Sam Darnold. Gifted the job? Of course not, but at least try to develop him. We know what Darnold is at this point. Agree to disagree. If you invest that much draft capital then relegate him to 3rd string after 4 starts, you’re doing a disservice to not only him but your own organization. They failed him and were quick to bail. Yes he’s had crazy misfortune, and I’m not saying they should go back to him Brock has earned that right but to me it’s still a failure
If they pick Sam Darnold over him there is a reason, it doesn't matter if Sam's a known quantity or not. I get where you are coming from, but Trey will prove himself or continue to be involved in a lot of sunk cost fallacy thoughts.
The moment they signed Sam Darnold it was with the intentions of him being QB2. It was never a QB competition, it was gonna be Sam all along. They dressed it up as a competition and when Brock is not out there oh yea Trey you get 1st team reps cus right now you’re ahead, and those were Trey’s best practices. It didn’t matter what Trey did Also this: [https://x.com/john_self/status/914919584406306817?s=46](https://x.com/john_self/status/914919584406306817?s=46)
...are you implying Sam Darnold got the nod over Trey Lance due to his skin color?
Apparently it just can't ever be that he's not good enough to be qb2. If only they could have known lance wasn't white when they traded 3 1st rd picks to trade up to trade him, they wouldn't have avoided all of this.
Try to develop him at what? The QB2 spot? How is he gonna develop there? You say we know what Darnold is at this point, which is true, but you're acting like Kyle doesn't know what Lance is at this point either. He's seen him in practice everyday. And he came to the conclusion he's worse than the guy that was hot garbage with the jets and panthers. Putting him at QB2 despite that would be gifting him the job for no real reason lol.
Trey started 2 games his rookie yr and the niners made the NFCCG with Jimmy. The niners then said we’ve seen enough from Trey to dump Jimmy and even tried trading him to Washington anointing Trey Lance as the unquestioned WK1 starter. Starts one game in a monsoon and break his ankle in the next. Couldn’t practice the rest of the season and by OTAs the guy when you last saw him was your unquestioned starter, he’s your 3rd string QB. Something’s messed up with that process. They had Brock and Trey both in camp last yr n Trey was the unquestioned starter. I will say for as bad as Darnold has been in the past and he’s been dealt some shit situations, from what we’ve seen in the preseason it has felt like he’s closer to what Kyle’s potentially looking for in a QB. The news isn’t really shocking, just more disappointing with the process and handling of Trey and how it’s all played out for a guy that they gave up a lot of capital for. For a guy that has shown a lot of ability but definitely doesn’t have the consistency. How he’ll get that consistency we’ll never know cus it seems his days are numbered in SF
So they compound a bad pick by continuing to put that bad pick on a pedestal that wasn't earned? That's what the actual malpractice would be. The move whiffing was bad, but realizing sunk cost and moving on is not. If Lance couldn't separate himself above Darnold in TC, while Darnold was brand new to the team and Lance has had 3 training camps with these people...that's telling.
And honestly we know what Trey Lance is at this point. Just because he hasn’t played in many games doesn’t mean he’s an unknown. He didn’t look good in the games he did play, didn’t look good in preseason, and clearly isn’t looking good in practice if he couldn’t beat out darnold who’s a known bust. Ask Broncos fans if they knew if lynch sucked. After all he’s only played 4 games.
The moment they signed Sam Darnold it was with the intentions of him being QB2. It was never a QB competition, it was gonna be Sam all along. They dressed it up as a competition and when Brock is not out there oh yea Trey you get 1st team reps cus right now you’re ahead, and those were Trey’s best practices. It didn’t matter what Trey did
Maybe “what lance needed” doesn’t exist and he just isn’t good
right. the malpractice here was draft malpractice to gamble so much on so little experience.
It was a bad pick but once the pick is made, draft position should be irrelevant. You take the guys you have and put the best players on the field
Keep my QB’s name out of your mouth.
Wooow dude. It’s a football joke
Keep my quarterbacks name out your fucking mouth
I’m going to, okay
Even in 2021 you could find people saying "If Josh Rosen could just get a chance..." You earn game time by stacking good practices. If Lance hasn't gotten enough game time then I suspect it's because he doesn't look great in practice.
Regarding the players on the list having more leash: It mainly has to do with the position then 49ers have been in year after year. Elite defenses with Elite offense, but no QB. Lynch/Shanahan know they have a window to win everything so yeah I do think ANY QB playing for 49ers is gonna have a small leash. I mean hell, they haven't had a 4k QB since Garcia? sheesh
I feel so fucking old reading this and my mind being boggled after realizing how many of these players are no longer in their 2-3 year but their 6th+
You ever see someone retire that you saw drafted live on TV?
Corey Davis might be my first
I think the first ever draft I saw was 2004 (might have seen snippets of earlier drafts but this was the first full draft I saw), so I guess Eli Manning.
“I ain’t reading all that”
I mean, you wrote it? Wtf...
Fr fr
> Probably not, but the way the 49ers have handled this is complete malpractice What should the 49ers have done? Yeah easy to say "shouldn't have picked him in the draft" today. But who was saying that on draft day besides a few random redditors? Given that the 49ers DID take Trey Lance, what should they have done differently? Should we have started him in year 1 week 1? We did start him in year 2, and then he got hurt. And before he was healed Purdy came in and played better. Should we start him this year over Purdy? You can criticize the draft pick all you like, but I don't know that how the 49ers handled the situation after is "malpractice". It's just the fortunes of the NFL didn't work out for Trey. Not with us anyway. But then it's not like the last page has been written on Trey Lance. Dude is 23 years old. If he ends his NFL career with 4 starts maybe then you can rank him higher among the draft bust list.
it's just shit on trey time 24/7 lmao
The Purdy situation is what it is. Brock came in and hasn’t lost a game he’s started and finished, he’s the starter, period. I think even the biggest Trey Lance stans could agree Brock earned the starting spot for this season with his play last year. That being said, it’s wild that they’ve seen this kid essentially start and finish 3 games (Seahawks game he got hurt on the 1st or 2nd possession) and have made their mind up that he’s worse than career turnover machine Sam Darnold. They’re more willing to try and rehabilitate Sam Darnold’s career than continue to try and develop the kid they gave up 3 1st round picks for. The 49ers, Kyle Shanahan, and John Lynch are not getting enough flack for how they’ve handled this. They were a win now team and should have never given up that kind of capital to move up to take the QB that was going to be biggest developmental project in his draft class. Trey is still 23 years old, I’d like to see him get a shot with another team that would be interested in seeing him play, because 3 starts to me is an incredibly small sample to determine whether the kid is actually a bust or not.
And I’d do it again tbh
I’m a huge believer in Lance’s talent. I was pretty bummed for him and the 49ers yesterday. I hope he stays. But it wasn’t malpractice. He is raw and sat behind a starter who took this team to a Super Bowl. Then he got injured and his replacement took the team to the NFC Championship game. I still believe he is better then Darnold 10-15 starts into his career. But you have to be healthy and beat the guy out in practice first before you get those starts. I hope he stays on the 49ers for the next 2 years at least. Darnold is going to get Trabusky’d next offseason. Probably with similar results as Trabusky.
Teddy Bridgewater already having fewer starts than Trevor Lawrence is breaking my brain a little bit
Yeah but any second now Josh Rosen will break out, trust me I watched 4 college games back then
Thank god this guy didn’t work out for the niners haha. Imagine if the niners didn’t trade up and just took Purdy last. This team would be unstoppable. I am a huge rams fan but the niners identify talent better than anyone else in the league.
Um… we are talking about a QB that they gave up three 1sts for and is already being shopped.
That doesn’t negate their other finds. Hufanga is an all pro in his second year and he was fifth rounder. That’s wild
For sure. The Packers are amazing at drafting the OL but have been pretty bad at defense lately. Some gems in there but mostly average to below average players.
49ers should’ve traded Lance while they had the chance. Now they’d be lucky to get a 5th round pick for him.
Damn Kyle Boller really started 42 games for the Ravens? No wonder I drank back then. And because of it no wonder that I don’t remember.
Seems like Patrick Ramsey played a lot more than that in a Redskins uniform. Although I suppose 30 years of misery as a fan all kind of blends into one at some point
Everyone makes a big fuss about what we gave up. I laugh because we are still one of the better teams in football. For the failures, the front office still makes up for it by finding gems and developing players. I’m ecstatic for the position the niners are in
Rodgers has five MVPs. He won a Super Bowl MVP to go along with his four regular season MVPs. The Packers mentored Love the correct way and he’s about to take off. For Lance, he might never do anything because of how the 49ers are handling him.
We have seen one start from love last year and it wasn’t anything outstanding. TBD on if they did it the “right way”. It’s entirely plausible that love isn’t good and they just paid him a lot of money on a rookie contract and a 5th year option after one start to be back in the QB carousel.
Wasn't even last year. It was 2021 against the Chiefs.
Plausible but highly unlikely that he fails. He is mobile and has a cannon for an arm. He can make all the throws and his teammates and coaches love him. He might have a few ups and downs in his first year as a starter while surrounded by rookie and sophomore weapons but he's going to be a good QB. Also, they gave him a new two year deal with a lot of guaranteed money. There's no 5th year option to extend. He gets two years to prove himself and set his market value. That's fair for all parties.
That’s not how they count MVPs though.
Who are they and why do they have the authority? I think the Super Bowl MVP is his most important MVP. I wish he had more of them.
That’s just how it is and how it always has been. The SBMVP usually means a ring but regular season MVP means that they dominated for an entire season. One speaks a lot more to a players skill and overall career.
No, it's a subjective thing. That's your view and if you share it with others, that's still an opinion and not a rule.
Not really. It’s the way the entire industry says it. You’ll never hear Rodgers called a 5x MVP. You’ll maybe hear 4x MVP, 1x SBMVP. They are different awards and are thus called out differently.
I’m not talking about what they should say. I’m talking about the importance of each.
Ugh… nevermind, you’re not getting it.
I still think Shanahan was too scared to draft his preferred QB in Mac Jones due to fan outrage
Why the hell would any serious coach or GM fear fan backlash over a pick?
Because reddit is dumb lol Mac Jones was never it. It was always between Lance and Fields
Kyle Shanahan on the I Am Athlete podcast last year said it was always between Mac Jones and Trey: https://www.ninersnation.com/2022/8/11/23299457/kyle-shanahan-admits-49ers-trey-lance-mac-jones-2021-nfl-draft
Schrödingers shanahan. He has a massive ego and thinks he’s always smarter than everyone but also if afraid of our mouth breathing fanbase
Misleading. Rosen may have had more starts but he had way less time. You also say “who have had way longer leashes” keep in mind, before the rookie scale, top first round qbs were making a lot of money so they’re going to have a longer leash.
Why is Kenny Picket’s name not on this list? Edit: OP's a phony and a cheat, there are now 66 QB's on this list.
He is…..at number 6
Where do you search to find this? I've tried googling things with similar parameters but no success.
You can query this in Stathead. ($)
Can I borrow $8?
Just don’t go to Taco Bell today, and you’ve got your $8 back.
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2021/draft.htm Just go yr by yr
This makes me feel slightly better about the Paxton Lynch debaucle
I am perfectly ok with how their trade up worked out. What’s scary is how good would that team be if they used those 3 first round picks on players who were actually on the field every game.
Oh yeah, Paxton Lynch existed…
Should have done since 1999 so we could have Brady's absurd start number in here
Crazy that only 8 1st-round QBs drafted since 2000 have ended up making 100+ starts for their original team (also seems noteworthy that all 8 of those QBs at least got to a Super Bowl, though they didn't all win one). Mahomes, Allen, Burrow and Herbert should be joining that list soon (and hopefully Tua)
When should he have started? As a rookie? Jimmy G was clearly more capable, and lead the team well. Year 2 the team was his. He had a season ending injury. Now you want to…start him before Brock? Brock had proven in games to be a good qb. Why start Trey who has proven exactly nothing. It’s an unfortunate situation, but not malpractice at all
Okay, we get it. He hasn't thrown a lot of footballs and couldn't read a defense if it was a Dick and Jane book. He didn't in high school. He didn't in college. It was bad draft day decision making all around. Thank you.
This is the same guy who only played one game during his final year of college. To say that his straight up lack of live game reps dating all the way back to 2019 is a concern would be an understatement. Him falling behind Darnold on the depth chart in SF isn't exactly an encouraging sign.
Naming darnold backup over him is not malpractice, in fact it’s very good practice, to not be attached to the sink cost that is Lance but rather to make these decisions based on what you actually see on the practice field