A year after trading up to select him third overall, the San Francisco 49ers decided not to wait any longer to promote Trey Lance. This season, the Niners are ready to give the reins to the second-year quarterback over Jimmy Garoppolo, who was the starter since 2017.
With Jimmy G at the helm, San Francisco made it to the 2020 Super Bowl and reached the NFC Championship Game last season. But all good things come to an end, and so does Garoppolo's time as starter in the Bay.
His future remains unclear, as there are not many teams looking for a starting quarterback at this point of the offseason. Either way, many are still surprised with the 49ers' decision to start Lance over Garoppolo, including Hall of Fame QB Brett Favre.
Brett Favre believes 49ers are making a mistake by benching Jimmy Garoppolo
"My personal opinion, I would go with Jimmy Garoppolo," Favre told The33rdteam.com. "He's not as flashy, not near as flashy. He wasn't their first-round pick. And no offense toward Trey Lance, but what Jimmy has done is win and win, win, win again. Not flashy. So, it's not the glamorous pick, but my goodness, the guy has won and put the 49ers in a position to compete for the Super Bowl year in and year out and deserves the right to keep playing.
"There's a tremendous upside with Trey; no question about it. But [Garoppolo] has been a proven winner. And that oftentimes gets overlooked -- is a guy a winner? And Jimmy Garoppolo is definitely a winner."
Favre may relate to what Garoppolo is going through, even though their situations weren't exactly the same. However, the Niners are convinced about their decision as they look sold on Lance. Only time will tell who was right.
