Kyle Shanahan Leaves Door Open for Trey Lance to Start in Week 8

Have we reached the point of the season where Trey Lance finally takes the starting job in San Francisco? 

Lance, who made one start when Jimmy Garoppolo was injured, is currently hurt himself, but 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan isn’t completely ruling out a quarterback change in Week 8. 

“I would guess so,” Shanahan said when asked if Garoppolo would start next week. “I will watch this tape and see if guys are healthy, first of all, and know where our guys are at. It was good for Jimmy to get healthy enough to play in this game today.”

San Francisco is now 2-4 on the season, as it lost its fourth straight game on Sunday night. 

At this point, San Francisco doesn’t have much to lose by playing Lance, as Garoppolo hasn’t been able to lead the team as he did during the 2019 season. 

With Lance clearly the choice as the team’s quarterback of the future, there’s a chance that Shanahan and company want to begin the new era sooner rather than later to prepare for next season. 

The 49ers could still make the playoffs in the NFC, but with the Los Angeles Rams (6-1) and Arizona Cardinals (7-0) controlling the NFC West at the moment, it seems like the 49ers are on the outside looking in. 

Lance wasn’t great in his start against Arizona, completing 15 of his 29 passes for 192 yards and an interception. He also ran the ball 16 times for 89 yards. 

The benefit of playing Lance is that he will get much-needed experience, but his health could also lead to Garoppolo starting in Week 8 against the Chicago Bears.

WynnBET has yet to release odds for that matchup, but we will have a full game preview and more at BetSided once those odds are available.