Irvin believes ‘incredible gift’ of Jimmy G puts 49ers No. 2 in NFC

49ers

Irvin believes ‘incredible gift’ of Jimmy G puts 49ers No. 2 in NFC

When Jimmy Garoppolo took a pay cut of nearly $18 million to remain with the 49ers, many discussed the psychological effect it could have on first-year starter Trey Lance. 

After San Francisco named the 22-year-old the starting quarterback for the 2022 NFL season, many assumed that Garoppolo would be on his way out. 

However, that never occurred, and now Lance will attempt to navigate life as a starter while looking over his shoulder at someone ready to take his job. 

Nonetheless, Hall of Famer Michael Irvin appeared on 95.7 The Game’s “Damon & Ratto” on Thursday, stating that keeping the veteran quarterback puts the team right back atop the teams that could come out of the NFC and reach Super Bowl LVII.

“For the San Francisco 49ers for me, puts them right back at number two,” Irvin said. “Now, maybe if you say teams in NFC, I’ll put the Rams up there first because they’re not a world champion and they added to their roster. I put San Francisco right now second in the NFC because they kept Jimmy Garoppolo.”

Additionally, Irvin stated if Garoppolo’s presence on the roster affects Lance’s performance, then the North Dakota State product isn’t the right guy for the job. 

“Now, if new ain’t playing well or gets into a real bad situation, you can go back to old that almost got to the two Super Bowls,” Irvin added. “It’s an incredible, incredible gift for the 49ers. And be gone with all of these damn people that always come up and like, ‘Well, you don’t know what that’ll do to Trey Lance?’ If Trey Lance breaks, he ain’t the right dude for you in the first place. That’s all I got to say. So be gone with all of those people, that’s all.”

NBC Sports’ Peter King is one of the NFL analysts that has shared his concerns about how Lance will be affected by the veteran quarterback staying with the 49ers. 

“The one X-factor in this is what does this do to Trey Lance’s psyche? He’s a very confident kid, he’s a very humble kid, but he’s confident,” King said. “But now, they basically have brought back a quarterback and Trey Lance, how does he avoid thinking ‘This team really doesn’t believe in me, this team is putting training wheels on me because they know now they have a good insurance policy so maybe they won’t be as patient with me if I have a few struggles.’ 

“… From the 49ers’ standpoint, after the awkwardness of this goes away, the one thing I would worry about is what you were saying to Trey Lance by bringing Jimmy Garoppolo back. It’s impossible for me to believe that he can’t think ‘This team really has some doubts about me.’” 

Lance has said all the right words publicly regarding San Francisco’s decision to bring Garoppolo back. But, in the end, the 22-year-old will decide whether the 30-year-old will see the field. 

RELATED: Trey Lance: No Jimmy Garoppolo awkwardness, ‘excited’ 49ers QB is back

If Lance plays like many predict he will play in 2022, the discussions over a quarterback controversy will be nonexistent. 

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