Like most of us, Frank Gore wants to see more of Trey Lance.
The 49ers legend spoke with Heidi Watney on Bovada's Instagram account (h/t TheSFNiners) and gave his first impressions of San Francisco's young signal-caller. Gore saw some good things but can't provide a full evaluation of Lance after just two NFL starts.
"I think when you watch him coming out of college, I think he's got talent," Gore told Watney. "I just think he needs more reps. And when he was playing in the preseason, I saw that he was doing some good things. I just think when he took that time off, and they let [quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo] be the guy, then when Jimmy G got hurt, you could tell he kind of went backward a little bit.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
"But he [does] have talent. I just think he needs the reps. I think once [coach Kyle Shanahan] knows what he's really good at, because Kyle is one of the greatest play-callers in the league right now, I think Kyle will figure it out [a way] for him to have success."
Gore knows the 49ers gave up a lot of draft capital to get Lance and understands Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have faith in the North Dakota State product, but he can't say if Lance is the long-term answer at QB ... yet.
"We've got to see," Gore told Watney. "We've got to wait until he gets on the field to see. ... I can't say if he's the long-term answer right now because I didn't see a lot. But coming out of college, he did have talent, and they traded up a lot to get him."
As for Garoppolo, Gore has no doubt the decision to get shoulder surgery was a factor in the 49ers' inability to trade the 30-year-old quarterback. But Gore does believe Garoppolo has a lot to offer an NFL team as a guy who, when healthy, can come in and deliver W's.
San Francisco 49ers
Find the latest San Francisco 49ers news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.
"At that position, quarterback, going to a new team, you want your quarterback to be out there in OTAs [organized team activities] to get the timing, to be out there with the new guys, to see what type of balls he can throw, how he is in the huddle," Gore said. "So I think that slowed things up with Jimmy G and why he didn't get traded.
"But I still think Jimmy G is better than a lot of guys out here in the league, though. I can't say what he's going to do, but he's a winner. He's been to the NFC Championship twice. He's been to the Super Bowl. You look at his record when he was with the 49ers -- he's a winner. Every time he's on the field, they have success."
While Gore is complimentary of all Garoppolo did for the 49ers, he knows Lance has to get on the field.
"We did a lot of moves, traded a lot of picks to get Trey Lance," Gore said. "When you do that, you've got to get a guy like that on the field."
RELATED: Alex Smith congratulates Gore on unofficial retirement
Garoppolo remains on the roster for now, and Shanahan has said he can envision a scenario that sees Garoppolo return to the 49ers for the 2022 season. But despite the posturing, it's clear what Shanahan's desired outcome to his QB dilemma is -- Lance under center and Garoppolo getting a fresh start.
It may take time for the situation to play itself out, but eventually, this ends with the 49ers turning the page to the Trey Lance era and discovering whether or not he is who they thought he would be.