The 49ers have handed the keys to the franchise to 23-year-old Trey Lance after naming him the starting quarterback, despite Jimmy Garoppolo being on the roster.
During an interview with The Athletic's Tim Kawakami, 49ers CEO Jed York spoke about what qualities he has seen from Lance that might explain San Francisco's decision to go with the young quarterback.
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"He's a confident young man," York said on "The TK Show." "He carries himself with the right combination of swagger and humbleness. I'm excited to see him again."
Although York is excited to see Lance, the 49ers took a cautious approach with the North Dakota State product last season, despite the high price San Francisco paid to leap from No. 12 overall to No. 3 to select Lance in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Quarterbacks drafted high in the first round typically play right away, but the 49ers wanted to take a different approach and learn from the past.
In the 2005 NFL Draft, the 49ers drafted Alex Smith No. 1 overall. York stated to Kawakami that San Francisco didn't do Smith any favors by sending him out onto the field with a less talented squad.
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"You look at another quarterback that we drafted up high with Alex Smith. Alex went out there very early on. Not the most talented football team that I've seen," York added. "I don't think that we did Alex any service of getting him out there early on in that situation.
"I think that was part of the conversation last year of financially, do you keep two quarterbacks, do you do this? Is Trey ready to go? And I think we tried to make sure that we had a plan in place to get Trey ready not just for Day 1 but hopefully a very long career with the San Francisco."
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York and the 49ers believe their cautious approach with Lance could pay off, now that he's an undisputed starter.
If the deep pass to receiver Danny Gray resulting in a 76-yard touchdown during the 49ers' 28-21 win against the Green Bay Packers at Levi's Stadium is an indicator of what's to come, then their patience could be paying off soon.