There was a somewhat new vision when the 49ers ’first-team offensive came off the field in a period of ball movement from their joint practice with the Chargers. Rookie quarterback Trey Lance was below center and it wasn’t just for a running play. He led the offensive for eight plays before this part of the practice was interrupted according to reports from the Chargers facilities.
Lance was not limited to throwing and delivering. The team mixed in some designed runs, which we didn’t see during the preseason opening against the Chiefs.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan hinted on Thursday that Lance could start seeing more first-team representatives, and on Friday after training at KNBR in San Francisco, he explained why the rookie got his first headline reps. real in the joint session with the Chargers.
“I wanted him to go against some of those players,” Shanahan said. “I mean, I wanted him to be there with (Joey’s Chargers) Bosa running and going against Derwin (James) (Chargers DB), and really his first team. And I plan to do it at random. And I wanted to make sure I did it today to get started. Especially going against a different team. We turn the receivers in there. I mean, if we look at our two and three, we’ll still see Kittle out there depending on the play. You will see Deebo, you will see Aiyuk. The only thing we really keep is the quarterback and the U-line, so it doesn’t matter so much who he’s with.
“But for me it’s important against who goes and to have the opportunity today to go against a different team, I wanted to make sure, at least of a period without deeds, in which we have to move the ball a little, that the I gave. ”
Lance’s action with the starting drive is probably not an indicator that Jimmy Garoppolo will take on soon. Shanahan has said the plan is to play Lance in certain packages even if Garoppolo is the starter. This would mean that reps against an initial defense in the preseason would be beneficial so that their first look at first-team unity is not their first action of the regular season.
However, it is intriguing that Shanahan has decided that Lance would not get first team representatives until the coaching staff felt he had beaten them. It’s clear that the rookie is moving forward, which is a big advantage for San Francisco, even if he doesn’t win the initial job in week 1. Lance is a long-term investment and his initial development could pay big dividends in the future. .