At the dawn of training camp, San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan noted that he expected Jimmy Garoppolo to enter the season as the starting quarterback, reiterating the plan that the club has harped on since drafting Trey Lance back in April.
Following Sunday’s 15-10 preseason win over the Los Angeles Chargers, Shanahan was asked if he’s ready to make it official and name Jimmy G the starter.
“No, I’m not making that announcement. Nice try, though.” Shanahan said with a smirk.
Shanahan noted he’s not in any hurry to “name” a starting quarterback, but promised it’d come before the season opener on Sept. 12 against the Detroit Lions.
“Whenever I feel like it,” he said of when he planned to make the announcement, per the Bay Area News Group. “(When?) It’s hard for me to give a date. It’s based off when we know and when we feel like naming it. I promise it will be by that Sunday.”
Garoppolo got the start Sunday and led one 15-play drive that ended with an interception on a high pass from the QB that Brandon Aiyuk couldn’t corral despite a leaping effort. Garoppolo finished 3 of 6 on the drive for 15 yards and the INT, with a long connection of 9 yards.
Shanahan was asked after the game if anything’s changed since the beginning of training camp.
“No, I haven’t seen that. I would love for it to be more and more each week, but the situation is pretty similar right now,” he said.
With that, the assumption remains the same as it has been all offseason for the Niners: Jimmy G is the presumptive starter with Lance nipping at his heels.
For his part, Garoppolo isn’t worried about Shanahan simply not naming the veteran the starter with one preseason game to go.
“Kyle always challenges us,” Jimmy G said. “He knows us and how to push guys in certain ways. I’m not too worried about that. I’m trying to get out there now to get ready for the Raiders. We had a productive week against the Chargers, got a lot of good work out of it. There’s so many other things to worry about. (It’s an) I’ll-let-chips-fall-where-they-may type of thing.”
Lance entered the game early in the second quarter and got off to a rocky start. The rookie completed just one of his first six passes (9 yards) with an interception and a sack in that span. It took Lance into his fourth series to get into any rhythm and move the offense. Part of the No. 3 overall pick’s struggles have come with a fastball that his targets struggled to hang onto. Through two preseason games, Lance’s receivers have dropped seven passes.
After the stumbling start, the rookie took off and looked every bit of the dynamic playmaker the Niners traded up to draft. Lance completed 7 of his final 8 passes, finished with 102 total passing yards, two TDs, and the INT.
Shanahan was pleased the rookie rallied from a rocky start.
