Losers of four straight games, the 49ers must answer one difficult question: Is it Trey Lance time?
Starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo struggled mightily against the Indianapolis Colts last Sunday, and the calls for Lance to start have reached an all-time high.
Coach Kyle Shanahan has remained adamant that Garoppolo will remain the 49ers starter, but with losses continuing to pile up, it's clear the rookie's time may come sooner rather than later.
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NBC Sports NFL columnist Peter King joined 95.7 The Game's Damon & Ratto on Monday to discuss the 49ers' quarterback controversy, and why he believes Shanahan and Co. are handling the situation correctly.
"Here's what you say," King said. "You say, 'We're going to play Trey Lance when he's ready. That's what we're going to do. This is about the next 10 to 15 years, not about trying to get us out of a huge hole this year, and perhaps doing more damage to a young player because he just wasn't ready.'
"I agree that you play Trey Lance when, categorically, he's ready to play, and you know that he's not going to get tremendously set back by playing."
After Sunday's loss to the Colts, many noted that Shanahan had a change in tone during his postgame press conference. He appeared more frustrated, while openly and honestly shouldering the blame for his team's struggles.
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"You're basically seven weeks and six games into this season," King added. "You have severe doubts about one quarterback, and it almost, I sense, listening to Kyle Shanahan [on Sunday] night, I sense that he really doesn't know what to do about the quarterback situation. He obviously feels that Trey Lance isn't ready, and he doesn't want to put him into a situation before he feels like it's optimal for him to play."
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Throughout his tenure with the 49ers, many have given Shanahan and the coaching staff a pass for some of the team's poor performances oftentimes centered around the terrible injury luck to key players up and down the roster.
It appears that some of the fanbase, and many around the league, are no longer offering up excuses for the lack of wins. As of right now, the 49ers (2-4) are on pace for their fourth losing season in five years under Shanahan and General Manager John Lynch.
If the 49ers finished with yet another losing season, could there be bigger changes coming to the organization?
"If you have your fourth losing season out of five, even if there is the promise of tomorrow with Trey Lance, it's just not good enough," King said. "Then you're going to have to wonder what other moves can they make to turn this team around right now."