Colin Cowherd believes Trey Lance injury blessing in disguise for 49ers: "Garoppolo is better now and Garoppolo fits the team now"
The Trey Lance era in San Francisco might be winding down after the quarterback's injury on Sunday. That's at least what one NFL analyst believes. On the Colin Cowherd podcast, show host Colin Cowherd claimed that while the injury is unfortunate, the 49ers are better off with Jimmy Garoppolo taking over. Here's how he put it:
"So you're taking a guy that's raw, that hasn't played much, struggles with accuracy and saying you're not going to be able to throw for six months. And next year's a great, great draft for college quarterbacks. Do the Niners [use their] second or third-round pick to roll the dice on somebody else...?"
For each game that Jimmy Garoppolo plays at least 25% of the snaps, he earns $250K. If the 49ers win that game, the number jumps to $350K.
As the starter going forward, he now has the chance to earn $5.6M via incentives in the regular season.
He went on to claim that the time away from football will not help fix the existing issues with Lance:
"Garoppolo is better now and Garoppolo fits the team now. The team's going to win now. Lance is going to continue not playing. It's not like he's going to pop back next season and suddenly will have solved his issues. He will be coming off a long stretch of inactivity. So if you're the Niners now, as a fan, you feel bad for Trey Lance, but your team's better today."
Here’s a first: Jimmy Garoppolo stopped to sign autographs for the crowd following his postgame presser today. I’ve never seen a 49ers player do that until today https://t.co/ie6UDnqYFV
The Trey Lance era in San Francisco
Jimmy Garoppolo seemed to be living on borrowed time once Lance, a 2021 first-round pick, entered the picture. He saw the field multiple times in his rookie season and started two games, slowly pushing Garoppolo out of his job. In his rookie year, he went 1-1 in two starts, throwing for five touchdowns and two interceptions.
In 2022, the quarterback took over as the opening day starter. In his first two games, his team went 1-1. He threw for 194 yards while completing 48.4% of his throws, throwing for zero touchdowns and an interception. On Sunday, he suffered an ankle injury that has effectively ended his season.
Jimmy Garoppolo will now take over his old job as the leader of the team. His first start of the season will be on Sunday Night Football against the Denver Broncos.
If any of the above quotes are used, please credit the Colin Cowherd Podcast and H/T Sportskeeda.