Preseason Week 2 Takeaways: 49ers Should Still Tread Cautiously with Trey Lance

Four NFL teams were in action during the second Sunday of the 2021 NFL preseason, with the Cleveland Browns hosting the New York Giants and the Los Angeles Chargers hosting the San Francisco 49ers. 

Naturally, the focus of the football world was on San Francisco's quarterbacks. And that was the key story Sunday. That said, there were some other intriguing developments among the four teams that took the field. 

Here are four takeaways. 

Trey Lance Looks Strong but Shouldn't Be Rushed

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Considering his extreme lack of experience even at the college level, it's a very good sign that in his second preseason game Sunday, 49ers rookie No. 3 pick Trey Lance rebounded from a poor start that included an interception and several inaccurate throws and put together a stellar performance.

Lance made several beauty plays on a last-minute touchdown drive to wrap up the first half and then did the same on a third-quarter scoring drive to finish 8-of-14 with 102 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Beyond the numbers, the complete package looked to be there for Lance, who displayed his big arm, his mobility and his resilience after digging an early hole following an up-and-down debut last week.

But as promising as the effort was—and as underwhelming as incumbent starter Jimmy Garoppolo was in his lone series—the 49ers should still take it slow with the North Dakota State product. 

Lance's showing Sunday came against a whole lot of deep-roster backups for the Chargers, and for the second successive week he made several turnover-worthy throws. He wouldn't likely get away with those against stiffer competition in the regular season, and the contending 49ers can't afford to spend much time dealing with quarterback growing pains in a tough division. 

Remember that Lance threw just 318 passes in college, none of which came at the FBS level and only 30 of which came during a 2020 season essentially scrapped by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ringer's Danny Kelly points out that he also threw just 113 passes in high school, and he only just turned 21 in the spring. 

Lance's ceiling is a lot higher than Garoppolo's, but his floor is lower right now, and the 49ers' margin for error will be minuscule this season. The team will be tempted to show him off early, especially if he plays well next week, but they'd be smart to give him more time to develop and become acclimated. 

It happened with Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes, and those two turned out just fine. 

With Saquon Barkley Getting Closer, the Giants Should Pray He Returns Soon

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The most intriguing Giants-related news Sunday was related to a player who wasn't on the field for the team's loss to the Browns. That's because NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported prior to kickoff that star running back Saquon Barkley will participate in team drills this week during joint practices with the New England Patriots. 

Barkley is 11 months removed from suffering a torn ACL early in the 2020 season, and it goes without saying that the G-Men will need him throughout the year if they're going to put together their first decent season since 2016 in what might be a make-or-break campaign for young quarterback Daniel Jones. 

"I know he's tapping his foot and getting anxious," Giants head coach Joe Judge told the media. "As soon as we get the green light from the medical staff, we'll keep going."

In Barkley's stead Sunday, Devontae Booker and Corey Clement rushed for an unimpressive 57 yards on a combined 15 carries. Booker's averaged a solid 4.3 yards per carry this preseason, while Clement is at 4.4 but with a fumble inside the opposing 5-yard line against the New York Jets. 

That duo can get the job done in a pinch as part of a talented offense featuring a veteran quarterback, but that doesn't describe the Giants offensive unit at the moment. They'll need Barkley to return to his Offensive Rookie of the Year form from 2018. He's hardly been healthy since then, but he's only 24 and it looks as though there could finally be light at the end of this recovery tunnel. 

The Browns Offensive Backfield Is Super-Deep

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The Browns have one of the best 1-2 running back punches in the NFL, but neither Nick Chubb nor Kareem Hunt saw the field during Thursday's clash of backups between the Giants and Browns in Cleveland. 

Instead, we got evidence that the Browns have one of the deepest offensive backfields in the NFL as the underrated D'Ernest Johnson picked up 59 scrimmage yards on eight touches while rookie sixth-round pick Demetric Felton picked up 37 yards from scrimmage on nine touches. 

Johnson, who carried the offense on a touchdown drive to open the game, also registered 42 yards on seven touches last week and has a stellar career regular-season yards-per-attempt average of 5.1. Felton ideally won't have to do too much this year, but the UCLA product's extreme versatility could come in handy. It looks as though they'll be open to using him at both receiver and running back. 

The Browns offense might be even more loaded with weapons than many of us expected. It could be a special year in Cleveland. 

Easton Stick Could Have a Shot Down the Line

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Because of the presence of reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year Justin Herbert, quarterback Easton Stick won't likely get a shot at a starting job with the Los Angeles Chargers. But that doesn't mean Stick can't pull a Jimmy Garoppolo, a Matt Hasselbeck or a Matt Schaub by excelling elsewhere after several years in a backup role to start his career. 

At the very least, the 2019 fifth-round pick looks to have a leg up on veteran Chase Daniel in the battle for the backup job in L.A. after he looked strong again Sunday night against San Francisco. 

Stick completed 10 of 14 passes for 85 yards and a touchdown, and that came a week after he was a perfect 7-for-7 for 63 yards against the Los Angeles Rams. Dimes like this one to Jalen Guyton will get a lot of teams' attention, and he also flashed his mobility on several occasions before Daniel came into the game and struggled to make an impact. 

Stick is a smart, strong, athletic quarterback with the pedigree to excel in this league. He's slated to become an unrestricted free agent in 2023. More performances like the one he had Sunday could make that experience quite interesting.