Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
Most of the San Francisco 49ers training camp chatter has surrounded the team’s quarterback situation with veteran starter Jimmy Garoppolo and rookie Trey Lance. So as a change of pace, let’s hear from the team’s best offensive lineman, Trent Williams …
… as he talks about the quarterback situation.
Williams, like his teammates, was quick to praise Garoppolo and Lance during a Thursday-morning interview on KNBR. He thinks highly of both and feels the 49ers can win with either of them. In his opinion, the roster is stacked. Williams feels San Francisco’s roster can beat anyone in the league, assuming mass injuries don’t sweep through the team like last season.
What has Williams seen from the two quarterbacks at the top of the depth chart? Is Lance breathing down Garoppolo’s neck?
“Nah, I don’t think it’s a competition yet,” Williams told Brian Murphy and Paul McCaffrey. “Jimmy has played lights out. I know a lot of people won’t say that, but Jimmy has been ballin’. I mean, he’s got this offense moving.
“So, I don’t really see a quarterback competition at this time. But Trey is an outstanding talent. It’s hard to deny that. When you see him throw the ball, when you see him run the ball, you know that’s a generational talent. I mean, we’re lucky to have QB1 and QB2 be extremely talented, and I think they both have what it takes to get us where we need to go.
“… Trey just turned 21, so I don’t think it would be a good thing for anybody to try to rush him. We’ve got time to let him develop. Personally, I think that’s what’s best. Now, Trey has been developing at a very high speed. I’ll say that as well. But for right now, Jimmy’s in control, and I think everybody’s OK with that.”
Having Lance as Garoppolo’s backup this season does set Williams’ mind at ease. Last season, the 49ers struggled to succeed when Garoppolo was sidelined because the drop-off to QB2 was significant. Lance’s presence adds a level of security to the quarterback depth chart.
If something similar happened this season, Wiliams knows the team can still win with Lance at the helm of the offense.
“But just seeing what Trey has to offer, and knowing that if something happened to Jimmy, that’s who’s coming up, I think everybody can sleep good at night because we know what happened to us last year when Jimmy went down,” Williams shared. “You know that kind of had us dead in the water for a second. Just knowing that we won’t run into that same problem, if that does happen again, it’s a very confident feeling.
“But to answer your question, no, I don’t think there’s a QB competition. But I do think that both of those QBs are extremely talented, and for us to be sitting here saying that about Trey at 21, I think that just goes to show you how well he’s coming along.”
You can listen to the entire interview with Williams below. The offensive tackle also recaps his decision to re-sign with the 49ers and his thoughts on head coach Kyle Shanahan.
Trey Lance may well find himself as the starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers before the season’s out, but he clearly won’t be starting training camp that way based on what head coach Kyle Shanahan said Tuesday.
The 49ers obviously plan on Lance eventually being the starter over incumbent Jimmy Garoppolo after trading up to select him with the third overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. But as of now, the job remains Garoppolo’s to lose.
“There’s no open competition right now in terms of they’re getting equal reps with the same group,” Shanahan told reporters Tuesday, one day before the start of camp. “Jimmy’s coming in as the one and Trey’s coming in as the two.”
Lance
49ers offensive tackle Trent Williams has been around the NFL for over a decade, which means he fully understands just how harsh of a business the league can be.
For that reason, Williams has no problem with the 49ers’ decision to add rookie quarterback Trey Lance even though they already have a proven veteran in Jimmy Garoppolo, and he doesn’t seem to think there will be any controversy as a result.
Garoppolo led the 49ers to the Super Bowl in 2019 and carries a 22-8 overall record since joining the team in 2017. But he’s also missed the bulk of two seasons due to injuries, has a contract with a hefty amount of non-guaranteed money over the next two seasons, and doesn’t have the
San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel spoke with reporters after training camp practice today. Here is everything he had to say.
Transcript provided by the San Francisco 49ers Communications staff.
Opening comments:
“I wanted to get out in front of this one. First and foremost, I’d like to say that any questions concerning [LS] Tabor Pepper, I defer to [special teams coordinator] Richard Hightower. All right, cool. I’m sorry. I apologize. So how are we doing good.”
We see number five, QB Trey Lance, out there looking at really impressive. What is he like behind the scenes? Is he doing all the stuff that you want him to do?
“That’s one of the best parts about Trey,
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo spoke with reporters after training camp practice today. Here is everything he had to say.
Transcript provided by the San Francisco 49ers Communications staff.
How’s this camp been?
“I’ve been pleased with it. It’s been competitive out there. It’s been good. Since I’ve been here, it’s been probably the most competitive camp we’ve had offense versus defense, I think, but I’m pretty pleased with where we’re at. I think there’s obviously some things we’ve got to shore up, cadence, too many penalties. Having the refs out here has been good just to shine a light on it. But there’s things for us to clean up.”
Head coach Kyle Shanahan mentioned the defensive line
