Jimmy Garoppolo Determined to Delay Trey Lance Era

Not so fast, Trey Lance. Jimmy Garoppolo is still here.

The San Francisco 49ers drafted Lance with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, but Garoppolo isn’t going to just hand him the reins to the starting quarterback job. 

Garoppolo has come out determined to keep his starting job, and head coach Kyle Shanahan thinks that the veteran has put together the best spring of his career in a 49ers uniform. 

“I think Jimmy had his best spring since we’ve had him,” Shanahan said. “We had the spring the first year (after 2017) with him, the second year (after 2018), he had the ACL, so we didn’t get that. And then last year, it was COVID, so this is really his second one not being on an ACL.

“I thought Jimmy came in in great shape, really locked in, a good place physically and mentally, and I thought he’s had as good of OTAs as he’s had.”

The question becomes, is this good news for the 49ers? WynnBET currently has the 49ers projected to win 10.5 games this season, but the over (+105) is the underdog to the under (-125). The 49ers are also co-favorites with the Los Angeles Rams to win the NFC West at +180 odds. 

Garoppolo did lead the 49ers to the Super Bowl in 2019, but based on WynnBET’s Rookie of the Year odds, Vegas doesn’t see him starting the whole season. 

Lance has +700 odds to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2021, which is the third-highest in the league. That would signal that he’s going to make several starts this season.

Garoppolo has the experience, but it seems to me that Vegas thinks that Lance adds a new dimension to the 49ers offense. It will be interesting to monitor the 49ers’ win total projections as the season comes closer to see if the quarterback situation changes San Francisco’s fortune. 

For now, it appears the 49ers are in good hands either way, but that could change in an instant if the Week 1 starter struggles out of the gate.