In 2021, the San Francisco 49ers surrendered multiple draft picks in return for the Miami Dolphins‘ third spot in the draft order. The team wanted to prepare the transition to a new quarterback and selected Trey Lance.
The Niners knew Jimmy Garoppolo‘s days were coming to an end, and they hoped Lance to take over. However, it didn’t go according to plan so far. Lance got injured in Week 2 last year, when he was named starter ahead of Jimmy G.
Against all odds, the quarterback that made an impression in the Bay area was Brock Purdy, who entered the league as ‘Mr. Irrelevant.’ However, 49ers CEO Jed York claims the team has no regrets on what they did to get Lance.
49ers CEO doesn’t regret giving up so much to draft Trey Lance
“I wouldn’t change anything that we’ve made about the decision with Trey,”York said Tuesday, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “I think Trey has a chance to be great. But it’s a bonus when you get somebody at the end of the seventh round that ends up coming in and being very impactful for your team.”
“You can’t worry about, well, Trey hasn’t played as many games as we would’ve liked. It’s not his fault. He got injured. When you look at when we drafted him, we wanted to make sure we had a young quarterback on a rookie contract that allows you to be able to say, ‘All right, Javon (Hargrave) is kind of a bonus. There’s a delta in what you’re spending on your quarterback versus what somebody else is spending in their quarterback.”
It’s hard to evaluate Lance when he had only four starts, but Purdy’s immediate response when needed put him in a much better position. Only time will tell whether the 2021 third-overall pick will get his chance to prove the Niners right.