How is Trey Lance impacted by Jimmy Garoppolo staying on 49ers?

SANTA CLARA — For what little the 49ers and everyone else truly know of Trey Lance’s NFL capabilities, his self-confidence sure seems pertinent right about now.

Lance has shown enough belief in himself, enough moxie, and, also enough humility, to not be rattled by Jimmy Garoppolo’s enduring shadow.

Getting Garoppolo to accept a pay cut on a restructured contract Monday should not be viewed as a damning indictment on Lance’s potential.

Lance is not a “looking-over-his-shoulder” guy. When the first mishaps, first interception, first loss happen — and they indeed will happen more than once — he should not be fretting his job security.

That’s not to say he feels entitled to the pressure-packed role of 49ers’ starting quarterback. He’s been groomed for 16 months in the 49ers’ organization for this promotion. He’s respected the process, he’s waited his turn, and he’s exercised full-fledged leadership, the latter of which was Garoppolo’s best trait since arriving on the 49ers’ doorstep on Halloween 2017.

Even if Nate Sudfeld or Brock Purdy lit it up this preseason or training camp, having a Lance-Garoppolo quarterback stable is the best insurance at such a vital position (see: 2018 collapse after Garoppolo’s Week 2 knee Injury).

Can they get along? As awkward as it may seem? Sure. They’ve made it this far together — and they’ve got years and a couple of Lombardi Trophy victories to go before they reach the Joe Montana-Steve Young level of awkwardness.

“It’s nothing weird at all. Like I said, I’ve never had anything I could possibly say that’s bad about Jimmy,” Lance said as training camp opened. “I mean, he’s been a big bro to me since the day I came in. He could have made things hell for me, honestly, last year. But he didn’t.”

Lance has looked every bit a NFL starter in terms of leadership since Garoppolo exited the 49ers’ stage after the NFC Championship Game loss.

Lance has taken every first-team rep, and he’s shown control of a complex offense. That’s not to say he’ll be an instant Pro Bowler. There’ll be growing pains, and the 49ers have a strong enough roster to withstand mishaps rather than panic and summon Garoppolo off the bench.

Say Lance face plants in his first full go-round as a NFL starter. It won’t be because of being thin-skinned and worrying that Garoppolo will reclaim his job.

No, the more likely paths to a Lance demotion are simple: a raw skillset that tends to yield high throws, a haphazard offensive line that’s being rebuilt, and, the ever-present possibility of injury.

Lance’s accuracy and game management could come with growing pains, and Shanahan sure seems willing to exercise patience this year more than perhaps ever.

If the offensive line struggles with new starters on the interior, that could disrupt a lot of the offensive scheme Lance must engineer, all of which will have trickle-down impacts on Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk, Elijah Mitchell and other offensive mainstays.

Health-wise, it’s obviously shrewd to have a quality backup in the bullpen if Lance gets hurt, again. Last year’s finger fracture in the preseason finale was more of a fluke than a knee sprain he endured in his starting debut at Arizona, where he had 16 carries and 15 pass completions.

Contractually, the 49ers have Lance signed through 2024 and can exercise his fifth-year option for 2025. If they truly felt he was not ready for the starting job, they could yield to Garoppolo at any point, though they’ve made no move to suggest doing that.

Credit the 49ers for not pushing Garoppolo into practice for a sham of a competition. This is Lance’s year to take over the reigns, and Garoppolo is still here for it because he’s a great insurance policy and he’s able to wait for a better option on another team, seeing how the QB market passed him by because of his March shoulder surgery.

What will the quarterback situation look like a year from now? Could Garoppolo and Lance flip roles again? Heck, anything is possible with this franchise’s quarterback history, just as it proved possible Monday to bring back Garoppolo.

Cam Inman joined the Bay Area News Group in 1995, specializing in the 49ers and NFL since 2000.