PALM BEACH, Fla. -- When the 49ers made the decision to stick with their veteran quarterback over the first-round draft pick for at least one season, the Kansas City Chiefs were often cited as the template.
The Chiefs selected Patrick Mahomes in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft, but opted to retain veteran quarterback Alex Smith as the starter for one more season.
Coach Andy Reid decided in the 2018 offseason it was Mahomes’ time, and Smith was traded to Washington.
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After Trey Lance sat for one season behind Jimmy Garoppolo, the 49ers look ready to make a similar move toward their second-year quarterback in 2022. The 49ers have been unable to trade Garoppolo this offseason as he makes an expected four-month recovery from shoulder surgery.
Reid answered questions from NBC Sports Bay Area about that transition on Monday at the NFL Annual Meeting.
“I haven’t talked to them about it, although I talk to those guys quite often,” Reid said of the 49ers. “But they’ll do it right. They’re smart guys.”
Mahomes did not take a snap for the first 15 games of his rookie season.
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With their playoff position set, Kansas City started Mahomes in the 2017 regular-season final. Mahomes completed 22 of 35 passes for 284 yards with no touchdowns and one interception in a 27-24 victory over the Denver Broncos.
“We were lucky enough to have kind of a pre-look with the Denver game,” Reid said.
“But you got to go off feel. That was just one game. So how’s he going to do for the whole season? What kind of consistency? You don’t know until he’s in there doing it."
Reid said he believes coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have a good handle on the situation.
"Those guys are smart guys and they’ve got the feel on it," he said.
Lance started two games as a rookie. He completed 41 of 71 pass attempts for 603 yards with five touchdown passes and two interceptions.
Teammates and coaches remarked how much progress Lance made behind the scenes. As the scout-team QB, Lance prepared the 49ers’ first-team defense to face the upcoming opponent.
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Reid said such evaluations are helpful.
“You get a pretty good idea on how he’ll compete,” Reid said. “But it’s different when he’s got to deal with all of you guys (media) and you’re coming down on him every other day.
“Normally, you don’t win every game, so how do you handle the wins and how do you handle the losses?”