© Kyle Terada | 2020 Oct 4
If you believe the buzz surrounding the 49ers, it sounds like Trey Lance is well on his way to taking the starting job from Jimmy Garoppolo. If you think that’s premature after just seven days of training camp, All-Pro tackle Trent Williams agrees with you.
“Nah I don’t think it’s a competition yet,” Williams told Murph & Mac on Thursday. “Jimmy is playing lights out, I know that. A lot of people won’t say that but, I mean Jimmy has been balling. He’s got the offense moving, so I don’t really see a quarterback competition at this time.”
Like everybody else, Williams acknowledges that the No. 3 overall pick also looks great. He also acknowledges that he’s never taken an NFL snap, and that rushing him into the starting lineup over a quarterback who won the NFC two years ago wouldn’t be a good move.
“Trey is an outstanding talent. It’s hard to deny that. You see him throw the ball and you seem him run the ball and you know that’s a generational talent. We’re lucky to have QB1 and QB2 be extremely talented, and they both have what it takes to get us where we need to go.
“Trey has just turned 21. I don’t think it would be a good thing for anybody if someone tries to rush him. We have time to let him develop and personally I think that’s what’s best. Trey has been developing at a very high speed, but for right now Jimmy is in control, and I think everybody is okay with that.”
Williams is excited by Lance for all the obvious reasons, notably that it’s good to see the QB of the future look like a stud immediately. More exciting at the moment, however, is the knowledge that the 49ers have security at the position, and that if the oft-injured Garoppolo goes down their season won’t be ruined like it was last year.
“Just seeing what Trey has to offer and knowing if something happened to Jimmy that’s who’s coming up, everybody can just sleep good at night because everybody knows what happened last year when Jimmy went down. That kind of had us dead in the water for a second. Knowing that we won’t run into that same problem, it’s a very comforting feeling.”
Listen to the full interview below.