Trey Lance likely will back up Brock Purdy in the 2023 NFL season if the latter is cleared for Week 1, but Steve Young won't completely shut the door on the 49ers' former No. 3 overall pick.
Lance's NFL journey thus far hasn't gone as expected to say the least, and as the 23-year-old QB works his way through all the physical and mental adversity, Young shared some advice to the young quarterback.
"First of all, if I'm [Trey], I'm not leaving," Young told NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco on the latest "49ers Talk" podcast episode. "This is the same thing I told Jimmy [Garoppolo]; this is where you're going to find out how good you really are. So try to stay as long as you can. And find ways onto the field, force your way onto the field. Make it your job. Someone has your job. Go get it. Go prove that the limitations that we think that you have had in the past, that we've had so little data on, we're guessing anyway, go put all those things to rest and say to yourself that I am so much more than you thought I was.
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"And I think it'd be fun. If I were Trey, I would be eager to go do that, to go show everybody. Anyone who says Trey can't -- off of what? What, why, what data? Oh, because one game, one play. C'mon, man. Stop. You don't know, and I don't think he knows. But he needs an opportunity to go prove it. I don't know if he's going to get it, but if I'm Trey Lance, I'm doing everything I can and he's doing it right now. That's my job; I'm going to go get it, and I'm going to create my own narrative about what I can and what I maybe can't do."
After being named QB1 for the 2022 season, Lance suffered a season-ending leg injury in Week 2. From the sideline, he watched Garoppolo and then eventually Purdy take over the rest of the way, with Mr. Irrelevant ultimately leading the team to eight straight wins before San Francisco's NFC Championship loss.
Even though Purdy is recovering from an injury of his own this summer, he's still believed to be the starter for the upcoming season if healthy. But after the 49ers signed Sam Darnold in March, San Francisco faces another offseason of quarterback uncertainty.
And it wouldn't be a true 49ers offseason without speculation. Lance has been tied to trade rumors over the last couple months, although general manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan have maintained they expect Lance to be a 49er for the 2023 season.
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Lance doesn't have a large sample size. He needs an opportunity, but he'll have to stay patient, determined, and as Young advised, ready to fight to take his job back.