Trey Lance has had “his best month,” says Kyle Shanahan

49ers’ head coach Kyla Shanahan shared earlier this season that the chances of San Francisco winning the Super Bowl this season are higher with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. Now, with a bit of irony, and only two games left for playoff hopes, the 49ers might have to shift to QB Trey Lance.

Garoppolo’s chipped bone and torn ligament in his right thumb has kept him out of practice following last Thursday’s loss to the Houston Texans, and creates some doubt whether he’ll be able to play against them this Sunday.

Luckily, Lance has put in his best performance this past month, and coach Shanahan has publicly praised his efforts on Monday.

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“Trey has had his best month”

“I think this last month with Trey has been his best consecutive four weeks of practice since we’ve had him,” Shanahan said. “He’s had a number of good days, and he’s had some bad days like most guys do. But as far as his consistency and stuff, I feel this last month has been his best.”

While Lance hasn’t seen any game action, and particularly not with the first team, he has seen reps in practice and has received a boost of confidence from Shanahan.

In the last and only game he started in the 2021 season, Lance completed 15-of-29 throws for 192 yards and one interception. He also ran 16 times for 89 yards in Week 5 against the Cardinals.

And now, in what might be his second start and his first real game action, the 21-year-old will have to translate his “consistent” performance to the field on Sunday. The 49ers need this next win against the Texans, with the possible tiebreakers going against them.

So will the 49ers show the develop-by-watching strategy they’ve taken on with Lance in the finals two weeks of the season?

We’ll have to wait and see.