San Francisco 49ers rookie quarterback Trey Lance was the team’s scout team player of the week for his work in preparing for the Cincinnati Bengals.
Lance as the QB2 runs the scout team and imitates the week’s opposing quarterback to give the 49ers’ defense an idea of how certain plays might go. The rookie signal caller earned the award which is voted on by the defensive coaches, and according to head coach Kyle Shanahan it’s not an easy honor for a quarterback to win.
“We’re usually hard on the quarterback. We don’t try to give it to him all the time, since they’re the ones not running around quite as much as all the other guys, but he definitely had the best week,” Shanahan told reporters after Friday’s practice. “He was sharp throwing the ball. Did a really good job emulating their offense, doing what we asked and where you go with the ball to try to do what (Bengals QB Joe) Burrow does. But when it wasn’t there, he did a good job making his own plays.”
This is the first real news we’ve gotten on Lance’s development since his brief stints in games have stopped since his Week 5 start against the Cardinals.
Lance’s off-field development is going to be vital to the future of Shanahan and the 49ers, so any signs of improvement from him are good news for the club. There was some speculation that perhaps Lance wasn’t developing as quickly as the team thought, but a practice squad player of the week award provides at least a little optimism that that isn’t case.
While he may not be making an impact in games, Shanahan has noticed what Lance is doing away from the field to get better.
“It’s a grind throughout the year. It’s always up and down with everybody in that situation, not just a quarterback, but the quarterback’s always harder because you’re usually not going to get that opportunity to start unless there is an injury,” Shanahan said. “And it’s easy for a few weeks, but I would think they would say it’s hard to prepare the like a starter week in and week out. And that’s the key, you have to do it week in and week out for that stuff to count. If not, you’re kind of just going through the motions and it’d be nice for more time. But the key is you can get the best out of your reps, if you’re completely deliberate in everything you do. You have to have that anxiety about learning everything. And if you do it that way, which I think he’s done a real good job of doing it, especially for a rookie, it can help a lot.”
As tumultuous as 2021 has been for the 49ers, it’d be worth it if it meant Lance has grown significantly as a quarterback. The practice squad reps seem insignificant compared to live, in-game reps, but the fact he’s finding ways to get better bode well for his future. If Lance winds up starting next year and quickly rising into the upper echelon of NFL quarterbacks, all the public consternation about his playing time would be worth the reward.
San Francisco has much larger goals for Lance than a coach-issued scout team award, but for now it’s a good start.
