49ers' York comfortable if Lance backs up Garoppolo for 2 years
The San Francisco 49ers don't seem to be in a rush to get Trey Lance under center.
49ers CEO Jed York is content with the prospect of Jimmy Garoppolo remaining the team's starting quarterback for the foreseeable future.
"We’ve talked about this internally," York said on "49ers Talk," according to NBC's Matt Maiocco. "If we’re in a situation where Jimmy goes out and takes us to a Super Bowl again and has an MVP-caliber season, and does it again, there are worse dilemmas to be in. And Jimmy certainly has the ability to do that."
Garoppolo was part of a Niners team that appeared in Super Bowl LIV and has two more years left on his contract. York talked about the benefits of having Lance, who would still be on his rookie deal, potentially step in once Garoppolo's contract expires.
"And even if (Lance) doesn’t play for two years, we still have an extra $100 million to put back into our team on top of whatever we would have for free agency for the next five years," York noted.
San Francisco selected Lance after trading up to the No. 3 selection. The dynamic between the soon-to-be 21-year-old and Garoppolo could be comparable to the situation Aaron Rodgers experienced early in his career with Brett Favre, according to York.
"If (Lance) doesn’t play until he’s 23, but he’s got a 15-plus year career ..." York continued.
"There were rumors about a guy, and obviously Kyle talked about trading for Aaron. How long did Aaron sit? Two or three years before he played? And, again, I want to make sure that we do everything we can to make sure that position is the best it can possibly be in the NFL."
Lance started just 17 games during his time at North Dakota State, prompting questions about how quickly he will transition to the NFL. Ultimately, York says his road to starting will come down to his development.
"If he’s the best player, then he would play. And if he’s not ready to do it, yet, we’re not going to put that on his shoulders, and whether that’s Trey or whether that’s anybody else, we want to make sure there’s competition throughout the team."