SANTA CLARA – Trey Lance’s teammates shared their support for the young quarterback Sunday after he suffered a fractured ankle in the 49ers’ 27-7 win over the Seahawks.
Jimmy Garoppolo and Nick Bosa, two key figures for the 49ers the rest of the way, were able to empathize with Lance, as they have both been down the path he is about to begin.
In Week 3 of the 2018 season, Garoppolo sustained a season-ending knee injury (anterior cruciate ligament tear) on a run in Kansas City.
”I’ve come full circle in this thing,” Garoppolo said, “and it’s just, it’s tough whenever you see a guy get hurt, you feel for him. But Trey’s a tough dude, he’ll be all right.”
In Week 2 of the 2020 season, Bosa’s cleat got stuck in MetLife Stadium’s new turf, his left knee blew out, and he needed ACL reconstruction, among other fixes.
“It’s the worst part of the game, obviously. It happens instantly and there’s no going back,” Bosa said. “Once it happens, you feel like your life is over, for a certain amount of time.
“(Surgery) starts your road back. It’s not going to be easy, but he will be back, and he’ll be fine. It’s just really tough right now.”
Bosa talked of the dark days and despair he endured before his sensational comeback last season, when he produced a career-high 15 ½ sacks in the regular season (and four sacks in three playoff games).
Stephania Bell, ESPN’s injury analyst who did an exceptional job chronicling Alex Smith’s recovery, liked the support she heard from Lance’s teammates after Sunday’s game.
She referred to Bosa “being a great teammate,” and that “only the people who have been through it can really relate.” To that end, she noted that Garoppolo’s 2018 ACL tear “will probably help Lance see light at the end of the tunnel.”
Nick Bosa being a great teammate. Only the people who have been through it can really relate. Remember Jimmy G also had a season-ending injury (ACL) a couple years ago. Relationship between him and Lance will probably help Lance see light at end of the tunnel. https://t.co/F8KCdcWk5y
— Stephania Bell (@Stephania_ESPN) September 18, 2022
Dr. David Chao, a former NFL team doctor for the Chargers, said he expects Lance to fully recover for next season. Unlike the compound fracture and ensuing life-threatening infections that ex-49ers QB Alex Smith endured with Washington, Chao compared Lance’s injury to the 2020 ankle injury Dak Prescott suffered with the Dallas Cowboys, returning and playing well the next season. “If there is any good news here it’s that Lance will be able to return to 100% next season, and this year the team still has Garoppolo,” Dr. Chao wrote for Outkick.com.
Former 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis and former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III were among those who chimed in with support on Twitter, but not everyone was so encouraging — even beyond those questioning Kyle Shanahan’s use of the young quarterback.
“It’s not like he’s going to pop back next season and suddenly will have solved his issues,” Colin Cowherd said on The Volume Sports. “He will be coming off a long stretch of inactivity. So, if you’re the Niners now, as a fan, you feel bad for Trey Lance, but your team’s better today.
“The Niners with Jimmy Garoppolo,” Cowherd continued, “I feel confident saying, ‘Oh yeah, that’s a team that can get to the NFC Championship Game. None of us were saying that when (Sunday) started.”
“You feel bad for Trey Lance, but the team is better today.”@ColinCowherd reacts to Jimmy G back at the helm for the 49ers 👉 https://t.co/AiHKP4uu0u pic.twitter.com/IrEj5jLrAT
— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) September 19, 2022
ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky was less optimistic Monday morning on ‘Get Up’ about the 49ers’ chances this season: “We know who this 49ers team is with Jimmy Garoppolo — they’re good, but they’re not championship caliber.”
He was also concerned about what the injury will mean for Lance’s career, noting that he played very little football over his last year at North Dakota State and his first with the 49ers.
“I hope he’s going to be just fine,” Orlovsky said, “but his development, which is so paramount, is three years without playing football at that position. That’s brutal, man.”
When the 49ers entered their locker room at halftime with a 20-0 lead, a parade of players made their way to the trainer’s room to check on Lance, who sat on a table talking to his father, Carlton, a one-time 49ers defensive back in their 1994 training camp.
After wrapping up their first win of the season, coach Kyle Shanahan paid homage to Lance in his team address, and players again consoled the normally upbeat quarterback who arrived before last season as the No. 3 overall draft pick.
Fullback Kyle Juszczyk said his quick message to Lance was “just to give condolences and to tell him to keep his head up. We told him we had his back and that sort of thing.”
This sort of thing happens in football. Lance understood the risk. Four days before his season-ending injury, he told reporters “I’m not ever going to slide and go fourth-and-2 and just give up on the play and send our defense on the field if it’s a situation like that.”
Now Lance won’t see the field until next season.
“We really wanted to see him this year,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “To have that bad of an injury, I feel for him. But if anyone can do it, it’s him.”
Garoppolo did it. Bosa did it. Others have done it. Now Lance must do it, rather than pass, run and lead the 2022 49ers to a playoff run.
Source: www.mercurynews.com