Lance excited by Garoppolo's return: We want to have NFL's 'best QB room'
Jimmy Garoppolo's shocking return to the San Francisco 49ers this season means Trey Lance will have one of the NFL's most reliable backup quarterbacks behind him as he kicks off his first season as the Niners' starter.
Lance is excited to have Garoppolo back, though.
"He's been a big brother to me since my first day in the league (and) since I got drafted," Lance said Thursday, according to Tracy Sandler of Fangirl Sports Network. "I know he's got my back. I got his back. And I'm excited to go through this year with him."
He added: "(Garoppolo is) gonna add a lot to our QB room, and that's the goal for us, to have the best QB room in the league, and we're pretty damn close if we're not there. I'm super excited just to have him in the room. I got to watch him do it last year, got to learn a ton from him, and I'm going to continue to learn as much as I can from him."
The 49ers named Lance their starter in the offseason and were expected to part ways with Garoppolo, who posted a 31-14 regular-season record with the team over the last five years. However, Garoppolo's shoulder surgery delayed a potential trade and helped the veteran stay with the 49ers on a restructured one-year contract.
Garoppolo, who also guided San Francisco to at least the NFC title game in two of the last three seasons, said he's fine with being the No. 2 guy moving forward.
"If that's gonna take a blow to your ego, you gotta check your ego a little bit. You gotta know who you are in this league," Garoppolo said Thursday, according to 95.7 The Game.
"I know a lot of stuff gets made in the media and shit like that. But (Lance and I) have a good relationship," Garoppolo said. "Everyone can say what they want, everything, but we went through it last year."
Lance, the third overall pick in the 2021 draft, started only two games as a rookie in place of an injured Garoppolo. He completed 59.62% of his passes for 441 yards and two touchdowns against two interceptions in those contests.