Trey Lance has yet to prove himself as an NFL starter, but not through any fault of his own.
The young 49ers quarterback has seen his development take hit after hit over the years, first during the coronavirus pandemic in his final season at North Dakota State and now thanks to injuries across his first two campaigns with San Francisco.
Now, fully healthy, Lance is competing for his spot on the 49ers' depth chart in training camp alongside veterans Sam Darnold and Brandon Allen, as well as presumed starter Brock Purdy. Adding all this up, ESPN's Bill Barnwell recently listed Lance as one of 20 players, coaches and executives under the most pressure to succeed during the 2023 NFL season.
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SIGN UP HERE "Has any player in recent memory seen their stock rise and fall so quickly without playing much at all?" Barnwell asked of Lance, noting the 23-year-old once was the future of the franchise after the 49ers traded three first-round picks to acquire the No. 3 overall selection and draft him in 2021.
After two starts in 2021 behind Jimmy Garoppolo, where he played with a previously broken finger that never healed correctly, Lance was named QB1 in 2022 but suffered a broken ankle in Week 2 against the Seattle Seahawks. He has played just 262 snaps since he was drafted, and Barnwell believes the 49ers now "appear ready to abandon their hopes for the 23-year-old quarterback after three complete starts" with Darnold on the roster.
For that reason, whether Lance remains with the 49ers moving forward or finds himself on another team one day, his 2023 performance could dictate his future in the NFL.
"Lance will have a career after the 2023 season, but the initial shape of that career might have much to do with what happens over this campaign," Barnwell wrote. "The dream scenario would be for him to somehow win back the starting job, given that he would be blessed with the league's best playmakers and coach Kyle Shanahan, one of the foremost offensive minds in football.
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"On the other end of the spectrum would be Lance getting injured again before being dealt to a hopeless situation after the year ends. He went from the 49ers' future to their past in a year; could he reverse that feat this season?"
With Purdy cleared to practice after making tremendous progress on his UCL surgery recovery, the second-year signal-caller is taking the majority of reps in camp when he's on the field. That leaves the remaining reps for Lance, Darnold and Allen to split, and the youngest of the three certainly is looking to show his worth in his third season.
"It's been a lot of fun, just trying to take advantage of all the reps I get working with all the guys," Lance told reporters Friday after training camp practice. "It's been a ton of fun just being able to be back out there and have our full room back, it's been a ton of fun.
"Live reps -- we've got four guys -- so it just kind of is what it is and just try to do the best I can to take advantage of every rep I get."
As last season showed, anything can happen on the field -- especially when it comes to the 49ers' quarterbacks. No matter where Lance ends up in the pecking order, he could end up with a much-needed chance to make an impact.