49ers HC Shanahan Defends Trey Lance: 'We’ve Got the Ultimate Confidence in Him'

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan isn't having any second thoughts about handing Trey Lance the keys to the offense with the regular season on the horizon.

Shanahan acknowledged Lance is likely to have an adjustment period as the full-time starting quarterback but remained confident in the 2021 first-round pick, per Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio:

"Trey's been very even-keeled throughout it all. And that's why it'll be fun to go through this season with him, because yeah, you know that's not always going to be the case. So we'll go through the fire together. He'll go through with this whole team this year and what he's shown and what he's done throughout his whole life and what he's done since he's been here. We've got the ultimate confidence in him handling the situation right, whatever that situation is."

Lance showed flashes as a rookie, going 41-of-71 for 603 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions in six appearances. He also ran for 168 yards and one touchdown on 38 carries.

The preseason has been a mixed bag for San Francisco. Lance has performed well enough (11-of-16 for 141 yards), but the state of the offensive line isn't encouraging.

Even though QB Jimmy Garoppolo is still a member of the roster, that probably won't be the case for much longer unless the Niners are happy to carry his nearly $27 million salary-cap hit into the year.

Lance's job shouldn't be in jeopardy should he struggle out of the gate because Shanahan and the front office are clearly all-in on him.