The 49ers are practicing patience when it comes to Trey Lance's development.
After sitting behind veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo for most of his 2021 NFL rookie season, Lance is expected to take over as the 49ers starting QB in 2022 pending a likely trade that ends Garoppolo's tenure with the team.
Starting just two games this season, while playing in six total, Lance's limited action on the field -- paired with what he learned from playing behind Garoppolo -- will be key to his success in 2022.
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Former 49ers coach and current NFL Network analyst Steve Mariucci joined NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco for an interview at Radio Row during Super Bowl week, where he explained why Lance will ultimately benefit from his season playing behind Garoppolo.
"The most important thing for a quarterback to do is to play in the game, all of the situations present themselves in the game, under the lights, with the crowd, all of the for-reals," Mariucci said. "That's where he'll be like a rookie. Having had a year watching a veteran quarterback prepare, learning the system, learning about defenses. He's not playing against South Dakota State, he's playing against defenses that have all kinds of different blitzes and looks and disguises."
Mariucci believes that the 49ers' decision to sit Lance for most of his rookie season was the correct move, despite other young quarterbacks around the league starting right away and having success in their rookie campaigns.
"And so that's what he's learned this year, it was a crash course, but he's a smart kid," Mariucci added. "So all of that has been learned already so it better prepares him so when he steps onto that field and plays a full game or two or three, he's more likely to be situationally smart. There's pros and cons because we're seeing a lot of these young quarterbacks, they start from Day 1. Justin Herbert and Tua [Tagovailoa] and [Joe] Burrow and all these guys, but they get all the snaps in training camp and they force-feed it and they're just going to do it. It's probably best to let a guy sit for a bit.
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"A lot of quarterbacks have benefitted from sitting and watching, learning how to prepare. Jimmy Garoppolo did that in New England, watching Tom Brady prepare. That's half the battle, how do I prepare to do this? And being able to put in the work in the meetings before and after and in the offseason too."
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As of now, Garoppolo remains the 49ers' starter until he is inevitably traded off the roster this offseason, giving way to the 21-year-old next season.
Whenever Lance does officially take over, he'll likely be better off because of what he learned playing behind Garoppolo this season.