In Reply to: don't forget Trey Lance! posted by Pyperkub on February 12, 2026 at 17:57:26
The injury was very untimely and I think Lance's skill set pulled Shanahan outside of his comfort zone/wheelhouse. I think there are alternate scenarios where Lance could have succeeded in SF, but a series of circumstances (injury, play of Purdy, momentum, the Niner's QB coach being the guy that pushed them to draft Purdy in the first place, and I think Shanahan experiencing some relief in being able to return to what he was most comfortable with). But where I think Shanahan and Lynch deserve the most credit is with the speed and decisiveness that they moved on from Lance. Granted, Purdy's play made it easier for them, but there still aren't many coaches/GMs that would move on from the third pick in the draft that they traded 3 first picks to get in favor of a guy that was the last pick in the entire draft. Most in their position would have tried to double and triple down on Lance in order to save face, whereas I think Shanahan was just like, "Nope, I don't think is working, I think this is other kid is a better fit so let's pivot and move on." So while on paper it looks terrible, was costly, and obviously they whiffed on Lance, admitting they whiffed and cutting their losses as quickly as they did showed a different kind of leadership and fortitude that is not often displayed by people in their positions.