George Kittle On Trey Lance: “He Took Steps Forward In OTAs”

George Kittle has never been worried about the quarterback situation. Whether it is Brock Purdy, Trey Lance, or Sam Darnold, Kittle has confidence in whoever is behind center. The media has been making a lot about the 49ers and their quarterback situation. Purdy is still recovering and Darnold seems to be in line to replace him not Lance. This has led to a lot of criticism as the team traded a lot to pick Lance third overall. In OTAs, Kittle is liking what he is seeing from Lance.

George Kittle Liking What He Is Seeing From Trey Lance

Kittle recently told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Jennifer Lee Chan about what he is seeing from Lance in OTAs.

“Trey has been great. I think he took steps forward in the OTAs. It’s really fun when you start connecting on plays that you might have struggled [with] in the past, and that’s something that we did at OTAs a couple of times, so that was fun. Got to get a lot of extra work in with them.”

Improvement seems to be there according to Kittle. This should make 49ers fans happy. However, the question I have is whether this is a show of support for Lance as a potential starter or something else.

Trying To Increase Trade Value

The offseason is the ultimate time to hype up your own guys and this statement might just simply be that. However, I wonder whether Kittle is trying to make sure Lance is still seen as an asset. It was reported that there was very little trade market for Lance before the draft which is why the team couldn’t move him. The team needs to convince at least one team that Lance could be a quarterback of the future. The looming fifth year option means that at some point the team is going to have to make a decision. Stick with Purdy or go back to Lance.

At face value, George Kittle hyping up Trey Lance is a good thing. I simply question whether there is more going on with these types of statements.