3 reasons 49ers don’t have to worry about Trey Lance in 2022

49ers don’t have to worry about Trey Lance because Jimmy Garoppolo is the benchmark

Look, let’s not wholly throw Jimmy Garoppolo under the bus here. He certainly is leaving the 49ers in a far better place than where they were upon his initial arrival back in 2017. And on his best days, Garoppolo could engineer some pretty exciting moments, such as that one shootout game against the New Orleans Saints back in 2019.

Yet the Niners revealed everything when they announced Trey Lance, not Jimmy G, was going to be the figurehead of the franchise going forward back in April of 2021. And while it’s taken a year to fully implement the transition, Lance doesn’t have to fully outplay Garoppolo on every level.

At least not right away.

Want your voice heard? Join the Niner Noise team!

Write for us!

There’s a mountain of evidence out there that suggests Garoppolo is an OK quarterback, some of it ranging to below par with other bits saying he’s above average. But if we grant Garoppolo couldn’t carry San Francisco’s offense late in the regular season and through the playoffs last year, yet the 49ers still made it to the NFC Championship game anyway, Lance’s ask for 2022 will be slightly more than “not messing up too much.”

If Lance plays at a Garoppolo-like level, both in terms of stats and performance, it will be enough not to worry about him as a first-year starter.

Anything more will be a massive bonus.