Trey Lance 'thankful and grateful' after Jimmy Garoppolo reached out after 49ers picked Lance
Don't expect any animosity between San Francisco 49ers quarterbacks Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo when training camp is underway. Lance said he was "thankful and grateful" to receive a text from Garoppolo after the 49ers took Lance with the No. 3 overall pick Thursday.
Lance said the gesture meant a lot to him:
You love to hear it 👇 pic.twitter.com/tuowmm6W64
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) April 30, 2021
Lance's comments read:
"Yeah, he sent me a text last night. I was super thankful and grateful for that, for him reaching out. It meant a lot to me. I'm super excited to get to work, get to meet him and learn as much as I possibly can from him."
Garoppolo has started 30 games for the 49ers over the past four seasons. With Lance being selected No. 3 overall, Garoppolo's time as a starter — at least with the 49ers — could be coming to an end.
Jimmy Garoppolo knew 49ers were taking a quarterback
Garoppolo wasn't caught off guard by the selection. The 49ers were up front with him after trading up for the No. 3 overall pick, head coach Kyle Shanahan told ESPN.
"Jimmy knew what the deal was," Shanahan said. "We have Zoom meetings every day. I got to see him on Zoom earlier that day and we had meetings and stuff. Jimmy has been great ... Jimmy is taking it as a business approach. I think he's excited for right now, just talking to him, and he's ready to come here and get back to being healthy and playing with our team. And if we have him compete, I know he's ready to compete."
The transition from a veteran to a rookie isn't always smooth. The Chicago Bears made things awkward in 2017 by taking Mitchell Trubisky while Mike Glennon was at the team's draft party, and Green Bay Packers quarterbacks Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers famously do not have a great relationship. Rodgers nearly had the same situation with Jordan Love, but reached out to Love the day after he was selected by the Packers.
Having a good relationship won't impact how Garoppolo and Lance play on the field. It should, however, make things less contentious when the 49ers pick their starter for the 2021 NFL season.
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