49ers legend Steve Young offers advice to Trey Lance

San Francisco 49ers legend and Hall of Famer Steve Young has some advice for quarterback Trey Lance ahead of Lance's third NFL season. 

"You’ve got to play and get in the groove, and then get kicked in the teeth and figure out how to get through that," Young said about Lance's situation during a chat with Ron Kroichick of the San Francisco Chronicle. "If I was Trey, do not leave here. Fight, claw, figure out a way to get on the field with this team. You’ll find out how good you are." 

Lance entered the league as the third overall pick of the 2021 draft but then spent the majority of his rookie season beneath veteran Jimmy Garoppolo on the depth chart. The 23-year-old also dealt with a lingering injury to the index finger on his throwing hand throughout that campaign and routinely had his "arm fitness" questioned until he was awarded the starting job ahead of last season. 

Lance didn't make it through two regular-season games as San Francisco's undisputed starter before he went down with what was referred to as "a fibula fracture and ligament disruption" in his right ankle. He ultimately needed multiple surgeries and watched as 2022 rookie sensation Brock Purdy won nine straight starts, playoffs included, en route to cementing himself as the club's future QB1. 

Lance reportedly will enter training camp as the team's third choice among healthy options behind Purdy and free-agency signing Sam Darnold. While the 49ers could shop Lance throughout the preseason, Young referenced the fact that the franchise still doesn't know if Purdy will be ready for Week 1 coming off the torn ulnar collateral ligament he suffered last January. 

"Sam and Trey are better players than people realize, and I think both of them can thrive with this system and this roster," Young added. 

Young also praised 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan for getting the most out of his signal-callers, including one selected with the final pick of the 2022 draft who helped the club complete a trip to the NFC Championship Game before he suffered his elbow injury. 

"Kyle leans in and figures out ways to make it better for quarterbacks," Young explained. "So we’re ahead of the game already right there. And then we have as good a roster as anybody — it’s not perfect, but it’s as good as anybody."

Whether or not Lance will take snaps with that roster in meaningful games this fall has yet to be determined.