Trey Lance 'Arm Fatigue' Rumors Dismissed by 49ers Coach After Colin Cowherd Report

The San Francisco 49ers are dismissing rumors that Trey Lance is dealing with arm issues related to his new throwing mechanics.

Fox Sports radio host Colin Cowherd and NFL Insider Mike Silver reported earlier this week they have heard Lance has "arm fatigue" due in part to the team rebuilding his delivery (h/t Grant Cohn of SI.com).

In response to a question from The Athletic's Ted Nguyen about the report, a member of San Francisco's coaching staff said he has "never heard anything about that a day in my life."

The level of scrutiny around Lance this offseason has gotten ridiculous for a 22-year-old who only made two starts during his rookie season.

NFL reporter Matt Lombardo noted in May he's heard that San Francisco's coaching staff "has been continually underwhelmed" by Lance.

Some of this discussion and speculation is almost certainly driven by the fact the 49ers have yet to trade Jimmy Garoppolo.

After the 2021 season, Garoppolo essentially gave a farewell press conference to San Francisco media and fans. His timetable for a resolution to things with the 49ers got pushed back when it was revealed he had surgery in March to repair a shoulder injury he suffered in the NFC Wild Card Round win over the Dallas Cowboys.

San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters last month that Garoppolo is on track to be medically cleared in July.

Given how many teams have already made trades for quarterbacks this offseason—Baker Mayfield was the latest domino to fall on Wednesday when he was traded by the Cleveland Browns to the Carolina Panthers—it's unclear what kind of trade market there might be for Garoppolo when he is fully cleared.

Regardless of what happens with Garoppolo, none of the noise coming out of San Francisco thus far has suggested anyone is concerned with Lance.

Shanahan addressed Lance's skill set during a fan event last month:

"I think the biggest thing on Trey that everyone's got to realize is he is younger," Shanahan said. "Trey's got more horsepower inside of him than I think he even knows of, just from the whole talent, but also what he's made of, how intelligent he is."

Lance told reporters in June that he isn't completely remaking his delivery so much as he is "just cleaning stuff up, using my lower half" more.

Garoppolo was kept on as their starter last season in part because Lance was only 21, had one season of starting experience at the FCS level in college and played just one game in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Things worked out great for the 49ers. They advanced to the NFC Championship Game before losing to the Los Angeles Rams. Garoppolo played well all season, throwing for 3,810 yards and 20 touchdowns in 15 starts.

The 49ers need to give Lance an opportunity to prove himself as their starting quarterback in 2022. They traded three first-round picks to move up in the 2021 draft and select him No. 3 overall.