© Kyle Terada | 2021 Aug 14
Steve Young was involved in one of the most famous quarterback controversies in NFL history, so perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise that he’s bracing for what the future holds for Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance.
Echoing an opinion he gave after the 49ers traded up for Lance, Young told KNBR on Wednesday that San Francisco’s quarterback situation is ‘fraught with terror,’ due to the fact that no matter how well Garoppolo plays, the pressure will only increase to make a switch at quarterback.
“The whole thing is fraught with terror, right?” Young told Tolbert, Krueger and Brooks on Wednesday. “As we said before in the offseason, John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan could not have screamed any louder to any of us. They went all in, in a year they thought they’d have a shot, to go from 12 to the top five, for the generation that is going to be John and Kyle’s signature. They decided, we don’t want Jimmy to be our quarterback…but yet here we are.
“So when I say fraught with terror, it’s because Jimmy is such a great guy, and he’s so beloved in the locker room, and he’s successful and wins, that he’s going to continue with just play it out. But you’ve got to understand the trajectory of what’s the underpinnings of that decision that happened in the spring. They are going to play Trey Lance. They’re going to force the issue. Win or Lose.”
It would seem that Jimmy only helped his case on Sunday, going 17-for-25 for 314 yards and a touchdown. The dye is cast, however, according to Young, and every good performance is only delaying the inevitable.
“I think they’ll look for more and more opportunities to put Trey in because in the end, that’s what they’ve spoken that they’re going to do. And that’s why I say it’s fraught with terror because, wait a second, what if Jimmy goes undefeated? Wins a Super Bowl? I think it’s going to be fascinating, but the underpinnings of that decision the spring, you need to hold tight to because they are holding tight to it, they are not going to just forget that they went all in for Trey Lance.”
Listen to the full interview below.