49ers CEO Jed York doesn’t regret drafting Trey Lance: ‘I wouldn’t change a thing’
THE San Francisco 49ers expressed optimism about his quarterback situation heading into the 2023 season at the league’s annual meeting this week, and although Brock Purdy appears to be the favorite for the starting quarterback job, the CEO Jed York isn’t giving up 2021 No. 1 draft pick Trey Lance.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters on Tuesday that Lance entered the 2022 season as the starting quarterback, but suffered a season-ending ankle injury associated with Purdy’s unsuspecting performance. who led the Niners to NFC Championship, the landscape of this off-season would be very different.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) celebrates with teammates after running for a touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the first half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara , in California, on Sunday, December 11, 2022. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)
“We’ll start whoever gives us the best chance of winning,” Shanahan said. “Brock is a guy who leads this because we’ve seen him play. But he’s hurt right now, and I don’t know if we’ll get him in Week 1 and I don’t know if we’ll get him in camp. training. I think there’s a possibility on all of that.”
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But for York, Lance could still be that guy.
“I wouldn’t change anything we did about the decision with Trey,” York said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “I think Trey has a chance to be great. But it’s a bonus when you have someone at the end of the seventh round who ends up coming in and having a really big impact on your team.”
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance #5 looks forward during the first half against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on September 11, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
“You can’t worry, well Trey hasn’t played as many games as we would have liked,” he continued. “It’s not his fault. He got injured.”
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York also noted that rookie quarterback deals have allowed the 49ers to make some aggressive moves, and despite Lance’s more expensive deal, York thinks it still works.
“When you look at when we drafted him, we wanted to make sure we had a young quarterback on a rookie contract that allows you to be able to say, ‘Okay, Javon (Hargrave) is kind of a bonus.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance (5) is helped onto a dolly during the first half of an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks in Santa Clara, Calif. on Sunday, September 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)
The 49ers gave up three first-round picks to take Lance at No. 3. He signed a fully guaranteed, four-year, $34.1 million deal while “Mr. Irrelevant” Purdy signed a four-year, $3.7 million deal.
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“Brock played eight games and won them all and played at an extremely high level. And we’re very happy to have that level of player as a quarterback,” Shanahan said Tuesday.
“Now we think Trey could be that, we would have done that last year if he had stayed healthy. The good thing for him is Brock being injured he had the opportunity to try to find that and all.”
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