San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan is impressed with how Trey Lance has been dealing with criticism.
Since being drafted in 2021 as the third-overall pick, the player has struggled to make an impression at the home of the five-time Super Bowl winners so far. The 23-year-old is under pressure to perform with Sam Darnold battling him for the franchise’s second quarterback spot behind Brock Purdy.
He faced more scrutiny after a less-than-impressive performance against the Las Vegas Raiders in the 49ers’ first pre-season game. Shanahan said on Wednesday that the quarterback understands the criticism and hasn’t let it get to him. “Trey is extremely smart, very socially aware. He knows how the world works” Shanahan said, via NBCSportsBayArea.com.
“So, he does his best — which I think he does a damn good job of — [in] trying to block all that out and focus on getting better. I think that’s what he’s done so far.” Shanahan also reiterated that as a top pick, unfortunately, strong criticism comes with it, such as former player Marcus Spears saying the 49ers trading up to pick Lance two years ago may result in one of the “worst trades ever”.
“It goes with it for quarterbacks, it goes with it for anybody who’s a high draft pick, but especially a quarterback,” the Niners head coach added. “That’s one of the tough things for that position but also high draft picks. I mean, you watch receivers come in the league and they have a few drops early in camp and it becomes a lot of pressure on them.
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“People want to see those people take off and do it right away and have no flaws. And that’s just part of it.” Lance has suffered injuries over the last two seasons, which started with breaking his right index finger in the final preseason game of 2021.
He then broke his ankle in just the second week of the last campaign, having played just two games. Despite finishing 10-for-15 passing for 112 yards on Sunday, Lance was sacked four times and also had two throws hit defenders while being guilty of holding onto the ball too long.
Lance is under a lot of pressure heading into next season (Getty Images)They went on to lose the game 34-7, with all seven of their points coming in the second quarter. After the heavy defeat at Allegiant Stadium, Lance assessed his performance and vowed to improve in future games. "I mean, it doesn't feel good to go three and out, especially to start the game," he told reporters.
"So, that was definitely frustrating, but I obviously put it on myself to continue to be better, make sure the guys around me are ready to go, I'm ready to go. “It starts with me, so I put that on myself.
"I'd say more than anything just things were opening up. Had a good feel for what they're doing, especially after these joint practices. So, felt good even going into the game those first few drives. Just miscommunication, guys on different pages and got to execute."
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