Trey Lance will start at QB for San Francisco 49ers 'sooner than later,' coach Kyle Shanahan says

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San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan isn't ready to announce his starting quarterback. He might never make a formal announcement.

If it wasn't already clear that the Niners intend to turn the keys over to Lance, then there were plenty of subtle and not-so-subtle clues left by the coach during his Tuesday morning media session.

The 49ers have been unable to trade incumbent quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, though not for lack of effort. John Lynch said Monday that Garoppolo's shoulder surgery was derailing potential trades.

Lance enters his second NFL season with the expectation that he will take over as the leader of the team. The Niners are still hanging on to Garoppolo until he is healthy and then hoping that trade talks spark back up while Lance continues to develop.

We are ready to do that if we cannot upgrade our team in another way. Quarterbacks are hard to come by. We have three that we are happy with, and that is a good thing.

When Jimmy gets his surgery, we can't upgrade our team by getting some good picks until people feel good about it, and that will be sooner than later. We are not just getting rid of him to get rid of him. Jimmy is a good player that we all really like as a person and as a teammate, and we are going to wait to see what helps the Niners the most.

On Monday, Lynch made it clear that the Niners don't intend to release Garoppolo and acknowledged the possibility that he could be on the roster in 2022, even at his current cap charge of nearly $27 million. On Tuesday, he said that he sees a scenario in which Garoppolo would be around next season, though he hasn't yet reached the point where he's considered how a training camp might play out if Garoppolo was still on the team.

Is keeping Garoppolo an impediment to Lance's development? It was not an issue last season, but it is something that Shanahan is aware of.

You have to make sure that you don't impede his development. He knows how I feel about him. He knows what we expect from him. He has a lot of respect for Jimmy. The situation is clear. We were close to adding some draft picks. Jimmy got the surgery, which changes things.

I think he will understand that. I have not had to talk to him about it. It makes sense for these guys. He is not an arrogant guy. The situation makes sense to me. There is nothing to hide about it. He is confident. He is going to focus on playing football. If he has to beat out whoever he has to, focus on it. He is going to be the best he can be.

Lance will get the starter's reps even if Garoppolo isn't able to throw until July because of his shoulder. If Garoppolo is still on the roster at that time, he is expected to be with the team in the Bay Area.

Another hint that the team has a plan at quarterback? He has had a lot of communication with Garoppolo and Lance. While things with Garoppolo are good, he hasn't talked to the veteran quarterback much, and he prefers to get away a little bit.

With Lance, Shanahan said, "Trey is a guy I talk to all the time, and then offered details on Lance's offseason so far and plans to continue working out in southern California with some other teammates before the offseason program begins."

"Trey is preparing hard for these nine OTA days, but that is kind of what you do on your own." It is time to practice when you come to play football. Hopefully you have done everything you can to prepare you for this moment. Getting himself prepared for these nine practices is what you have to do.