The San Francisco 49ers have an interesting problem on their hands. In the draft earlier this year, the 49ers selected quarterback Trey Lance to be the franchise’s future. However, Jimmy Garoppolo is the current starting QB and has the 49ers with a 2-1 record in the early stages of the 2021 season. PopCulture.com recently caught up with 49ers legendary quarterback Joe Montana who shared his thoughts on what the team is going through with Lance and Garoppolo.ย
“I think the key there, at least for me, is, can Jimmy stay healthy?” Montana told PopCulture. “When he’s healthy, he plays well, and you’ve just got to try to keep him on the field. Trey will get his chances, at some point, obviously through the season. …That’s one of the positions that’s really difficult to substitute guys in and out.”
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Lance has seen some action, but the 49ers have no plans to start him over Garoppolo. But based on the way 49ers head coach Kyle Sahahan runs the offense, Lance is a better fit because of his athleticism. Additionally, fans are not impressed with the way Garoppolo has played so far this season.ย
“Jimmy is a pure pocket guy, and Trey obviously can play in the pocket and out, obviously, and he can get out and move around,” Montana explained. “You’re going to see both of them throughout the year. If it continues to work for him, I think he’ll continue to do it. But I think as long as Jimmy stays healthy, I think it’s hard to replace him, especially as well as he’s been playing already.” ย ย ย
When Montana started his NFL career, he was the 49ers’ backup quarterback, and Steve DeBerg was the starter. It took a couple of years for Montana to take complete control of the offense, which he enjoyed. “The transition for me was a lot easier that way,” he said. “The offense that Bill [Walsh] had put in for us was very, very different from what I had come from at Notre Dame, so there was a big learning curve. There’s also an understanding on exactly how to operate that offense, and it took a while to get both of those settled in my mind. I was a part of that shuffling from both ends of it, first when I got there with Steve DeBerg, and then as my career went on, it became with Steve Young.”
