STATELINE, Nev. -- While traveling around the country in his role as a TV analyst, Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young has formed his own ideas about the NFL systems in which quarterbacks can thrive.
That is why he believes Trey Lance is in an ideal situation with the 49ers under coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch.
“I would, no question, No. 1, run to Kyle’s offense, to this team, to the spirit of what John’s built, No. 1,” Young said on 49ers Talk.
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Young said he would rank the Los Angeles Rams and the Kansas City Chiefs just a notch below the 49ers in quarterback friendliness.
Young said he believes the 49ers are top-five in the NFL in a lot of different areas that impacts the locker room and the quarterback, specifically. But where he places the 49ers at the top of the list is innovation on a week-to-week basis to attack defenses.
“I want to say easy, but it’s not easy,” Young said. “It allows all your athleticism and all your smarts and everything else to come out. This offense is what I’d dream about playing in. That’s where it’s a cut above everybody else.”
With training camp set to open on July 26 in Santa Clara, Lance is the 49ers’ presumptive starting quarterback. Shanahan said recently he still expects Jimmy Garoppolo to be traded before the start of camp.
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“For Trey and for Jimmy, the best they’ll ever be in my opinion will be right here with this team,” Young said. “So for Trey, that’s a great thing because it looks like he’s going to be right here. And for Jimmy that’s a scary thing because I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
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Young, who remains in the Bay Area while working as an analyst on ESPN, said he has offered his help to Garoppolo and Lance while also being alert to overstepping his bounds. Young and Lance have spoken on occasion.
“I think there’s a place, carefully, where I can be helpful,” Young said.
Recently, Lance said he would always be receptive to anything Young has to say.
“He is that kind of a spirit, and I appreciate that: A sponge,” Young said. “Because of that, you have to be careful you don’t just start throwing stuff out.”