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Trey Lance played four snaps in the 49ers’ season opener against the Lions. He had three rushes for 2 yards and one pass attempt for a 5-yard touchdown.
The expectation from outside the building was an even bigger role in Week 2. But the backup quarterback didn’t get off the sideline Sunday against the Eagles as Jimmy Garoppolo played all 70 snaps.
Coach Kyle Shanahan said the rookie’s role is dependent on the game plan, and the 49ers aren’t going to play Lance just to play him.
“No, I never have a plan that, ‘Hey, I’m going to use him, or I’m not going to use him,’” Shanahan said Monday, via David Bonilla of 49erswebzone.com. “It’s always an option throughout the game. It’s been two games, and I’ve never had him in the openers, and I’ve never had him as a designated time. I plan on doing that week-to-week and whenever I feel like putting him in. You saw when I did in Week 1, and I never got that urge in Week 2.”
The 49ers are not concerned about getting the No. 3 overall choice reps. They are not concerned about the future. The 49ers, who are 2-0, are focused only on the here and now and have big goals for this season.
“You don’t really make decisions based off your team of just putting a guy in totally just for how that is for him in the future,” Shanahan said. “I think that’d be irresponsible to everybody else in the room. You do it if you think it gives you a chance based off of what’s going on in that game, that game only.
“In the meantime, yeah, it’s nice for a guy to get out there. But if it wasn’t because he was bringing a different element that we thought could help us with something that we’re going against, there’s no other reason that we would do it.”
