Raiders' Jimmy Garoppolo: Cowboys' Trey Lance Has a 'Bright Future in This League'

Another former San Francisco 49ers quarterback has expressed confidence in Trey Lance's future.

Jimmy Garoppolo, who played with Lance in 2021 and 2022 and departed San Francisco for the Las Vegas Raiders in the offseason, appeared on NFL Network's NFL Total Access and said that he believes that all Lance needs is an opportunity to show his talent.

"Trey's a brother of mine, man, so like I said before, I'm always pulling for him," Garoppolo said. "I think he's got a bright future in this league. Dude's got talent. Just got to get him out there."

Garoppolo also reflected on how rare opportunities can be in the NFL and that he's happy Lance will get another shot to develop.

"Things didn't work out in San Francisco for whatever reasons, but glad that he gets another shot, man," Garoppolo said. "This league's all about opportunities, and when you get a fresh one like that, you've just got to take advantage of it. Everyone has their own path and everything like that. It's never going to be easy, but it's how you come out the other end of it. So I'm always excited for him, man."

The nine-year veteran actually lost his starting job to Lance ahead of the 2022 season, which was exactly the projection the team had for their 2021 No. 3 pick. Then Lance came down with an ankle injury that ended his season and Garoppolo took over and led the team to a 7-3 record before his season was cut short by a foot injury.

This led way to 2022 seventh-round pick Brock Purdy who closed out the season on a 5-0 hot streak and helped the team reach the NFC Championship. He has been anointed as the starter in San Francisco and rendered Lance expendable.

This led to Lance's trade to the Dallas Cowboys on Friday where he will get a fresh start with another iconic NFL franchise. His path to being a starter is blocked there, as Dak Prescott will be the guy in Dallas, but Lance still enters a new situation where he can rebound from his rocky tenure in the Bay.