San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan hasn’t changed his mind on his starting quarterback, at least for now.
Shanahan said on ESPN during Thursday night’s NFL Draft coverage that No. 3 pick Trey Lance was not likely to overtake Jimmy Garoppolo as the Niners’ starter this year, despite Lance’s status as a pick with huge investment.
“It’s going to be very hard for a rookie to come in and beat Jimmy Garoppolo out. He’s a very good player,” Shanahan said, via Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk. “That’s why I like the situation that we are in. Now, we’ll see where Trey’s at. We’ll see how he does at OTAs. I love that we’re getting those. I love that he’s going to be here tomorrow. But Jimmy’s our quarterback right now.”
There are a lot of qualifiers here, and Shanahan is leaving the door open to change his mind. The coach has been sending all kinds of mixed signals about Garoppolo lately, and it’s fair to wonder if his words are worth believing on the subject.
For whatever it’s worth, Garoppolo is doing all the right things for Lance after the pick. It seems he’s still the starter for now, but that can change quickly.
