49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan wishes he would have called a different play than the one that resulted in an injury to Trey Lance, but he's not about to second guess the play itself or why the call was made.
Shanahan spoke about the play after the 49ers' 27-7 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, which took place late in the first quarter while holding a 3-0 lead. He said the play was the same that netted the 49ers a big run from Deebo Samuel earlier in the possession, but Lance was the one doing the running this time, and it resulted in an ankle injury that will keep him on the sidelines for the foreseeable future.
Oh no... Trey Lance is down and hurt. Jimmy G is coming in for the #49ers pic.twitter.com/dz3zqyCzgl
— 𝗙𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗢𝗪 @𝗙𝗧𝗕𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗱𝟳 (@FTBeard7) September 18, 2022
"There's a few options on the play," Shanahan said. "It could have been a handoff. The D-End went up on the play. It's the exact same play we ran three plays before that where Deebo got a 52-yarder. So there's a lot of stuff that goes into it."
The outcome of that play led to second-guessing among some fans and media, but Shanahan said it's a call he won't hesitate to make again.
"Anytime a guy gets hurt I wish I didn't call that," Shanahan said. "But no, that's something we were going to do and something we would continue to do. That's a football play we believe in and something that gives him a chance to be real successful in this league."
Shanahan pointed out to reporters after the game that other teams run the same play, including those who have more expensive and established quarterbacks than Lance.
"Do you guys watch other teams in this league? Buffalo does it all the time with their quarterback (Josh Allen)," Shanahan said. "It's a pretty normal play. It's part of football. It's unfortunate that he hurt his ankle on it but it's a very normal-ran play. Watch some other people."
Lance's injury means the quarterback position is now back in the hands of Jimmy Garoppolo, who fortunately gives the 49ers a very experienced option that can keep their postseason aspirations intact.
"We feel very fortunate to have Jimmy here as our number two quarterback, especially when your starter gets hurt," Shanahan said. "It's good to know the experience and how good of a player he is. We've lost our starting quarterback I think the fourth time in sixth years, so we have been in this before. I do feel we're a little more prepared with our backup right now, so I'm happy for that."
Meanwhile, the 49ers will need to add more depth at the quarterback position, but whoever comes in likely won't jump ahead of rookie Brock Purdy. The 49ers were ready to make Purdy their backup quarterback behind Lance if they weren't able to keep Garoppolo, so expect Purdy to be the next man up if something happens to Garoppolo.
"If Jimmy wasn't available we were going to go with Brock as our number two. So we've got a lot of confidence in him. Obviously we've got to get another guy in this building, whether it's a third or whether it's on practice squad but we need a third guy."
