San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan has one heck of a quarterback situation on his hands.
Rookie QB Trey Lance looked sensational, though inconsistent, in the 49ers’ preseason win over the Chargers on Sunday, and after the game, Shanahan couldn’t keep the emerging QB competition between Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo under wraps.
On one hand, he said little has changed from the start of training camp, when he declared Garoppolo the starter. But when asked by reporters to name Garoppolo the starter at the podium postgame, Shanahan declined to do so.
Shanahan may have handed the local press a word salad, but he’s clearly no dummy. Lance looked too good to close the door on any possibilities before Week 1. Also, he could simply be gassing up Garoppolo, so to speak, giving him fuel to play his best.
But it appears only a matter of time before Lance takes the team over. As Shanahan seems to know, the only question is: when? Here are a few of his best throws, in case you missed ’em.