SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Trey Lance says that he feels better than ever, and the 49ers’ quarterback credits his ability to focus on the now for that.
“I’m really just trying to be where my feet are,” Lance said Tuesday after the 49ers’ second OTA session of the offseason. “Trying to live in this moment and be as present as I possibly can. I’ve enjoyed it. It’s been awesome. …. I really feel like I’m having fun playing football again.”
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The struggles over the two-plus years since the 49ers drafted Lance have been the opposite of fun.
He fractured the pointer finger on his throwing hand during the preseason of his rookie 2021 campaign, an injury which effectively scuttled the 49ers’ plans to gradually work him into the offense. And because Lance wasn’t able to bend his finger for months after that, he suffered through a domino effect of mechanical issues that couldn’t practically be addressed until 2022, his second year. But that season ended for Lance in Week 2 when he broke his ankle against Seattle.
“It was hard those first years — my first year and especially and then last year — I thought I’d be able to get close to that point of not having to be so stressed and worried and have a better understanding of offense and defense,” Lance said. “I finally feel like I’m able to just have fun and enjoy it again. Obviously, there’s ups and downs and there is stress and anxiety that comes with playing the position and playing football, but this is the best I’ve felt, for sure.”
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Lance said that he’s leaned heavily on encouragement from his parents, Carlton and Angie, and his younger brother, Bryce. He also meets regularly with a sports psychologist. The combined support has helped Lance recenter entering what seems to be a critical season for his NFL trajectory.
“It’s just being able to find ways to live in the moment, I think, is one big thing that I’ve focused on this year as well as just realizing how blessed I am to be in this position,” Lance said. “I say it every single day: I play in the NFL. Hopefully, the plan is for me to get on the field this year and really get this thing started, but gratitude is what I bring everything back to, just bringing everything back into perspective.”
Speaking of perspective, here’s some from a football standpoint: By this time next year, the 49ers will have decided whether or not to pick up Lance’s fifth-year option for the 2025 season. Time is indeed moving quickly for the No. 3 pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, who’s been limited to 102 passing attempts since the 49ers traded a boatload of capital to move up and pick him.
All while injuries have forced Lance into a significant detour, the landscape of the 49ers’ quarterback situation has changed thanks to the addition of two other capable quarterbacks.
“We have two guys who are talented enough to be taken in the top five of the draft,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said Tuesday, “and we have another guy who played like it last year.”
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Brock Purdy, of course, is the last QB Shanahan mentioned — the most proven of the three. He’s the team’s stated favorite to be the main man under center in 2023. Lance and Sam Darnold, the No. 3 pick of the 2018 draft, are the two other contenders. A key part of Shanahan’s message in that concise description of his quarterback room might’ve been a challenge of sorts: Lance and Darnold have talent, but the time is now to turn that talent into production.
Lance, who’s been back at 100 percent health since late March, has worked with QB specialist Jeff Christensen and alongside Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes this offseason. Early fruits of that labor were on display Tuesday when Lance showcased the tighter, quicker release that he’ll attempt to carry over into 2023 live action.
First look at Trey Lance and Sam Darnold, 49ers OTAs. Lance’s throwing motion does indeed appear more compact pic.twitter.com/fS8KGQU0TX
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) May 23, 2023
A quarterback’s release is rooted in his base of footwork, which Shanahan continues to stress is critical in Lance’s mechanical development. The coach said he’s seen progress in Lance’s base through two OTA practices.
“It means playing with your feet wider apart, always be in a position to throw,” Shanahan said. “When you’re a quarterback, your feet aren’t together. When you turn into a runner, your feet are together and you look to run, but then it takes you a second and a half to throw — and defenders can tee off. It’s about always having to be in a certain position to throw in, so when the O-line is bad, you’re not one of those guys who’s just going to get sacked every time the O-line is bad. You know how to get rid of the ball or you know how to turn into a runner and go. And that has to do with how you balance your feet out, how far you keep them apart and how you can progress in a pocket.”
Said Lance: “It’s being able to tie my feet to my arm and tie my feet to my brain and how we see concepts and everything like that. The offense is very specific as far as just tying your feet to your progressions. I don’t think any offense in the country in college is like that, so it’s definitely been a learning curve for me.”
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That education slowed considerably when Lance’s broken finger, which took several months to fully heal, didn’t allow for a proper grip and natural release of the football. That became a problem that stretched into the 2022 calendar year when Lance was also learning how to pace his throwing workload after over a year of strenuous offseason training put his arm in a particularly sore spot. (North Dakota State didn’t play a 2020 season, and Lance acknowledged that he threw excessively in preparation for the 2021 draft instead. He’s since learned to dial back his offseason workload to fall closer in line with that of the typical quarterback.)
“Wrist, hand, arm, shoulder — it all connects,” Lance said. “(The fracture) 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.”
Lance says that all these complications are behind him now, and that’s enabled him to develop that calm appreciation of the present, which he’s using to navigate the unique challenges of this wild 2023 offseason in the 49ers’ QB room.
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“I’ve been able to focus more on the right things that are going to help me versus trying to focus on getting back healthy last offseason,” Lance said.
Lance has done his best to tune out noise. It’s involved rumors earlier this offseason that there might be other NFL teams interested in trading for him. But Lance insists that the scuttlebutt never even piqued his interest.
“Not at all,” Lance said. “I knew where I wanted to be. I just want an opportunity to compete. I love it here. I love the coaching staff. I love working with (Brian) Griese and Klay (Kubiak) and now Klint (Kubiak) as well. I love the quarterback room, love the guys in the locker room. No doubt for me, this is absolutely where I want to be.”
The prospect of an increasingly arduous path back to the 49ers’ starting quarterback job hasn’t dissuaded Lance from that, either. He reacted to a question about Purdy’s position as the favorite for that role with the same exact theme: competition.
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“As far as the stuff with Brock, my opportunity is to come in to compete and that’s all I wanted,” Lance said. “So for me, I don’t want to take anything away from Brock and nobody should be able to take anything away from Brock. He did what he did last year and he deserves all the credit in the world for it. But for me, I just wanted an opportunity to compete.”
(Top photo: Godofredo A. Vásquez / Associated Press)