SANTA CLARA — Finally, the mystery of Trey Lance’s arm fatigue has been solved.
“Yeah, hopefully we can finally kill that this year,” the quarterback joked Tuesday after the 49ers’ second day of organized team activities.
Lance said his arm wore down during his rookie season after not taking any breaks from the time of the 2021 pre-draft process to the 49ers’ offseason program and through the 40-day layoff before the start of training camp.
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Then, a hairline fracture of his right index finger in the 49ers’ third preseason game of his rookie year forced him to change the way he gripped and threw the ball.
That subtle change in mechanics had a significant impact, he said.
“Wrist, hand, arm, shoulder, it all kind of connects, obviously,” Lance said. “Yeah, it bugged a lot of other things, and it was hard to find a way to throw finishing off my middle finger and changing my grip and things like that.”
Coach Kyle Shanahan said Lance’s inability to bend his index finger due to a fracture that did not heal properly had a domino effect that contributed to issues of consistency and additional strain on other parts of his body.
San Francisco 49ers
“Your whole body is connected from the ground up similar to a golf swing, so anything that gets thrown off, it can definitely adjust things and you overcompensate,” Shanahan said. “Watch any quarterback throughout the year. That's when things start to hurt, and then have to go back and recalibrate it.”
Lance sustained the finger injury in a preseason game when his hand hit the helmet of an opposing player upon his follow-through. He sat out a week of practices but was cleared to serve as the 49ers’ backup in the season opener against the Detroit Lions. He completed his only pass attempt for a 5-yard touchdown to Trent Sherfield.
But the longer Lance continued to practice and play, the worse things got.
“It was my pointer finger, and I couldn't straighten it after that third preseason game when it happened,” Lance said.
After Lance was anointed the 49ers’ starter last offseason, he worked to get his finger back to functioning properly in order to recapture his natural throwing motion.
Lance's second NFL season came to an end in the first quarter of Week 2 when he sustained a fractured right ankle and ligament damage against the Seattle Seahawks. He said he felt as if he were 100-percent healthy near the end of March, and his finger -- not his lower leg -- was the most significant issue with which he dealt.
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Shanahan said Lance currently is spinning the ball better than at any point since becoming a member of the team.
Lance appeared to be throwing the ball during practice Tuesday with a tighter spiral due to a fully healed right index finger. And he said he is experiencing none of the arm fatigue that plagued him in the past.
“No issues this year,” he said.