San Francisco 49ers fans can not wait for Trey Lance to get the starting quarterback job after Jimmy Garoppolo choked the NFC Championship away.
The San Francisco 49ers were just one half away from reaching their second Super Bowl in three years. They held as much as a 17-7 lead over the rival Los Angeles Rams in the third quarter, but they could not close out the deal, no thanks in part to the play of Jimmy Garoppolo.
With the team trailing 20-17 on the final drive, Garoppolo threw up a prayer pass to any one of his receivers, but it ended up in the hands of Rams linebacker Travin Howard. That clinched the loss for the 49ers, and there are Twitter users ready for the Trey Lance era to begin in San Francisco.
Trey Lance pic.twitter.com/yTi9o7YSFt
— James Holzhauer (@James_Holzhauer) January 31, 2022
Bring on the Trey Lance era. pic.twitter.com/pWajl2hKQ9
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) January 31, 2022
well if there’s one positive thing about the niners losing is that it’s TREY LANCE SZN BABYYYY pic.twitter.com/IeyTgzmoFN
— Stone (@stonemicmat) January 31, 2022
Thank you Jimmy Garoppolo for the memories. I hope you find peace w/ your next franchise.
— Leo Luna (@LeoLuna93) January 31, 2022
Trey Lance, what’s up!?
Jimmy G: "Alright guys, we're running it back next season right?"
— Lt. Elroy Mustang ~🛡️ Vision Alchemist (@MillyBeamen) January 31, 2022
Trey Lance: pic.twitter.com/ElbQan1G1Y
thus begins the Trey Lance era. #FTTB
— Luke Vaughan (@bayarealuke) January 31, 2022
https://twitter.com/itsanthonybreh/status/1487979681072627715?s=20&t=swOSjhTZWdvWimQ-CJmHdg
Trey Lance era has begun.
— Dr. Nirav Pandya, M.D. (@DrNiravPandya) January 31, 2022
Thanks for the memories Jimmy. The Trey Lance era starts now.
— Alex (@RealSFDynasty) January 31, 2022
49ers fans ready for the Trey Lance era to begin after Jimmy Garoppolo collapse
Ahead of last year’s NFL Draft, the 49ers made the huge move to trade up to the No. 3 spot in a transaction with the Miami Dolphins. With their choice at quarterbacks not named Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson, the 49ers selected Lance out of North Dakota State. Considering how much they invested in Lance, the time was ticking for Garoppolo in San Francisco.
In the regular season, Garoppolo threw for 3,810 yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions on a 68.3 completion percentage. He did no exactly win playoff games with his arm, that was more of an effort from the entire team.
Garoppolo and the 49ers were seemingly in good position to win after Garoppolo hit tight end George Kittle in the end zone on a 16-yard touchdown pass. But, as mentioned earlier, the magic ran out for Garoppolo.
The veteran quarterback is under contract for the 2022 season, where he is set to earn $24.2 million in base salary and account for $26.9 million against the salary cap, per Spotrac. The 49ers can save $25.2 million in cap space and eat just $1.4 million in dead money if they are to either trade or release Garoppolo in 2022.
San Francisco will have to make a choice this offseason, but 49ers fans are fully ready for Lance to get the start under center for the entire 2022 campaign.