5 nightmare scenarios 49ers would hate to see in 2022

No. 1: 49ers lose Trey Lance to an elongated injury

The 49ers appear poised to fully commit to their top pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, quarterback Trey Lance.

Nothing wrong with that. Given the investment in Lance, along with the hype the former North Dakota State signal-caller has generated this offseason, it’s time to make that transition to him from the established veteran, Jimmy Garoppolo.

Sure, the Niners could find a way to keep Jimmy G on the roster as a backup to Lance, and that’d likely alleviate any major concerns about losing the latter to some long-term injury. At the same time, though, the same media circus that encircled San Francisco for all of 2021 in light of Garoppolo and Lance both bidding for QB1 duties wouldn’t exactly go away, and it would be wiser for the 49ers to avoid that.

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At the risk of not having a qualified backup, should Lance miss a lengthy chunk of his first full year of being a starter.

Lance dealt with both finger and knee issues his rookie season despite appearing in only six games and starting just two. Should the Niners move on from Garoppolo, they’d have two less-than-desirable backups, Nate Sudfeld and the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, Brock Purdy.

Granted, few teams could adequately absorb losing their starting quarterback for any length of time and retain the hope of making the playoffs.

Should this happen to San Francisco, though, it’d likely mark yet one more forgettable season in which too many things simply went wrong.