49ers news: Trent Williams doesn’t want to rush Trey Lance

While 49ers quarterback Trey Lance is turning heads at training camp, Trent Williams told KNBR he doesn’t think it wise to rush the rookie.

It’s understandable why a huge portion of the San Francisco 49ers fanbase and probably a good chunk of the media, too, want to see rookie quarterback Trey Lance take over for the veteran, Jimmy Garoppolo, as the Niners’ No. 1 signal-caller right away this season.

There’s probably some merit for it as well. After all, even now, Lance is far more physically gifted than Garoppolo, and it’s easy to see why Lance could potentially create all kinds of headaches for defensive coordinators around the league that Garoppolo could never hope to equal: running speed, elusiveness, arm strength, etc.

But just because Lance could seize the starting bid from Garoppolo out of training camp doesn’t automatically mean it happens.

And according to San Francisco’s perennial Pro Bowl left tackle, Trent Williams, it shouldn’t happen right away.

Williams joined KNBR 680‘s Murph and Mac Show on Thursday morning and broke down why he thinks it best Lance sit and develop in year one, allowing Garoppolo to have one final year as a starter.

When asked if he thought there was a true competition between Lance and Garoppolo, Williams had a pretty provocative response:

"I don’t really see a QB competition at this time, but Trey is an outstanding talent, a generational talent, when you see him pass and run the ball. Trey just turned 21, so I don’t think it would be a good thing to rush him; we got time to let him develop."

You can check out the entire interview with Williams below:

Williams’ stance is fairly consistent with what head coach Kyle Shanahan has been saying all along, namely that Garoppolo will be the 49ers’ Week 1 starter and Shanahan would be surprised if Lance somehow unseated Jimmy G in that role right away.

Read More: Kyle Shanahan coy about Trey Lance starting in 2021

Aside from just one reported snap with the starters, Lance has spent training camp working with the second-string offense.

49ers can afford to let Trey Lance develop, as Trent Williams says

Fans and many analysts understandably want to see Lance win the starting bid outright. And if he does, fine.

Yet the bigger picture, and one which certainly benefits the Niners, is the fact they don’t have to rush Lance into a starting job right away. This is certainly not the case for the two teams that took quarterbacks ahead of San Francisco in this year’s NFL Draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars with Trevor Lawrence and the New York Jets with Zach Wilson.

While he certainly has his limitations, a healthy Garoppolo has at least proven to be effective enough under center, and his near-4,000 passing yards during San Francisco’s 2019 Super Bowl run is evidence enough of that.

Even though one should expect Lance to at least see some field time this season if Garoppolo remains the full-time starter over the duration of 2021.