Tony Avelar/Associated Press
Kyle Shanahan, the head coach of San Francisco 49ers, told reporters Monday that Trey Lance, a rookie quarterback will be out for seven days after sustaining a chip fracture to his finger in Sunday's preseason victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.
Lance stated after the game, "We'll find out how it feels tomorrow when it can tell a bit more, but we're not too worried about that."
Lance was the No. 1 pick in San Francisco's draft. After trading with the Miami Dolphins, the 3rd overall pick in 2021 NFL draft was selected by San Francisco. 12 on March 26.
There was a lot of speculation about what the 49ers would do to the pick. The top three options were Justin Fields from Ohio State, Lance and Mac Jones from Alabama.
It was Lance who, according to Kyle Shanahan, 49ers head coach, was the right pick.
In his first full season as North Dakota State's starting quarterback in 2019, the 21-year old completed 66.9% of his passes, resulting in 28 touchdowns and zero interceptions. As the undefeated Bison won the Division I-FCS title, he also ran for 1,100 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Lance was ranked third by the B/R NFL Scouting Department among quarterbacks, and sixth overall in its big board class of 2021. Daniel Jeremiah, NFL Network, placed Lance seventh on his board.
The Marshall, Minnesota native was part of a 49ers team which anointed Jimmy Garoppolo the team's future quarterback when they traded for the former star from Norther Illinois in Oct. 2017, in a deal that the New England Patriots made.
Garoppolo was 5-0 in the final stretch for the 2017 49ers, but suffered a season-ending ACL tear in Week 2. of the 2018 campaign. After an outstanding 2019, Garoppolo led the team to the NFC championship, but he was forced to miss 10 games by a pair high-ankle strains.
As Lance waits for the keys to the franchise, the 29-year old is not the future of San Francisco.
The team will be without Lance for the moment and will look to Nate Sudfield as a backup to Garoppolo.
