SANTA CLARA (Calif.) -- Last week, Trey Lance, a rookie quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers was thrown in at halftime. There is no such uncertainty this week.
Kyle Shanahan, the Niners' coach, announced Friday that Lance will make his NFL debut Sunday against the 4-0 Arizona Cardinals. This announcement comes after Lance had to perform the reps for the starting offense while Jimmy Garoppolo, the starter, has been dealing with a strained right calf.
After not practicing all week, Garoppolo was listed as out on Friday’s injury report. The 49ers may also be without tight end George Kittle who is doubtful after sustaining a calf injury.
Lance, the No. The No. 3 pick in the NFL draft could start without the Niners' star tight-end and veteran Nate Sudfeld as Lance's backup.
Lance stated, "I'm excited, but I'm going to make it bigger that it is." I was hoping Jimmy would recover but he has done an amazing job. Nate and Rich (quarterbacks coach), Shanahan have also helped me a lot this week. "I'm very excited about the chance."
Lance will turn 21 on Sunday and will be 154 days old. He will also become the fourth-youngest NFL quarterback. He will also try to be the second quarterback (joining Phil Simms 1979) to be selected in round one to win his first NFL start against a team that is 4-0 or higher.
This will be Lance's debut start. However, it is his first extended playing time. At halftime, he replaced Garoppolo in last week's loss against the Seattle Seahawks. He learned that he was entering the game just seconds before the third quarter started. He settled down after some awkward moments in the first quarter, which Shanahan described as "some good and some poor."
Lance ran seven times for 41 yards and was 9-of-18 for the 157 yard game with two touchdowns. Lance was able to become more comfortable during the week-long practice session with the starters. The 49ers were able to create a game plan that included more Lance-specific plays.
However, it is difficult to predict Lance's first start.
Shanahan stated, "I'm excited for him to play." He's a talented player, but this will be his first time playing in the entire game. While I am excited to see him play, I don't expect anything. From our perspective, you try to prepare a man as well as possible. He's prepared and Sunday is the time to have some fun. You live with the results.
Garoppolo expressed hope Wednesday that he would be able against the Cardinals, but admitted that he'd rather be "fighting through" his calf injury than fully recovering.
This was important because Garoppolo tried to return too quickly to a high ankle injury suffered in last year's Week 5 loss against the Miami Dolphins. Garoppolo, clearly in pain, went 7-of-17 for 77 yards and no touchdowns. He also intercepted two passes before being sent to the bench in that 43-17 loss.
Even Friday morning, Garoppolo and the Niners hoped that Garoppolo would be able to participate in Friday's practice. After some practice testing, Garoppolo was unable to participate in the practice.
Shanahan stated, "Somebody must protect them from themselves." "He tried to get warm and ready to go. We had to make a smarter decision because it wasn't responding in the right way.
Garoppolo will be given additional time to recover from this injury as the Niners move toward a Week 6 bye. It is hoped that Garoppolo will be fully recovered in time to play against the Indianapolis Colts on Oct. 24.
Garoppolo stated Wednesday that he was still hoping to play, but he was also helping Lance prepare.
Garoppolo stated, "It's kinda the balancing act." "If Trey has questions about anything, whether it's something I ran in the past, or something he hasn’t, (I’m) happy to help him out in any way that I can."
