There were undoubtedly mixed emotions coming from the 49ers locker room after their 27-7 win over the Seahawks on Sunday.
The 49ers played well in their one-sided win over the Seahawks, giving them the boost they needed after a highly disappointing loss to the Chicago Bears in Week 1. But the win came at a cost, as the team lost quarterback Trey Lance to what appears to be a season-ending ankle injury.
Lance was on the minds of a number of 49ers after the game, as well as head coach Kyle Shanahan. His injury was tough to swallow considering where he is in his career and how much he prepared coming into his first season as the team's starter.
Here's a roundup of what Shanahan and a number of other players said when asked about Lance's injury.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan
Shanahan and the 49ers have seen more than their share of significant quarterback injuries over the past few seasons. They lost Jimmy Garoppolo to significant injuries twice and now lost Lance, which marks the third time since 2018 their starting quarterback suffered a season-ending injury.
"It's always tough, especially when it's a big one like that," Shanahan said. "It happened to Jimmy a couple years ago (with his torn ACL against the Chiefs in 2018). That was a little more towards the end of the game at Kansas City. But it's tough. You feel for someone so bad. It's a sad moment, but you don't have time to sit there and think about it. You've got to get back right back to the game. I thought the guys did a real good job of that. We were real happy about the win, but it was a little sombering."
Lance is now in for a difficult challenge, having to recover from season-ending surgery while missing out on a season that would have given him the experience he needed to become the team's franchise quarterback. Shanahan thinks Lance will be able to make his way back.
"It's unfortunate for him," Shanahan said. "We're really hurting for him. We were really hoping to see a lot of him this year. To have that bad of an injury to where he can't come back from it, we feel for him. But if anyone can do it, it's him."
Shanahan said he spoke to Lance after the game. Lance wasn't thinking about the future as much as he was thinking about the plays he ran earlier in the day.
"He's doing as good as you can," Shanahan said. "When I went out and saw him, he was just asking me about a couple of the plays before, about some of his reads and stuff. That's the type of kid he is. I'm hurting for him."
QB Jimmy Garoppolo
Garoppolo didn't expect to be in this position just weeks after agreeing to a restructured contract with the 49ers. It was especially strange considering he's been in the same position as Lance, and that now he's the one who will be stepping in for a quarterback who has been lost for the season.
"It was weird," Garoppolo said. "It took me a couple series. I think I was sitting on the sideline, I forget who I was even talking to, but talked about coming full circle. I've been in Trey's shoes. That sucks going through that. It's tough as a young player, but he'll come back better from it. If you do that, I think it'll set you up for success in the future and that's what I'm doing."
Garoppolo saw Lance after the game and has confidence the young quarterback will make it through the difficult road ahead.
"I saw him for a quick second after, just wishing him well," Garoppolo said. "I've been there. I've come full circle in this thing. It's tough whenever you see a guy get hurt. You feel for him, but Trey's a tough dude. He'll be alright."
QB Brock Purdy
Lance's injury now means the rookie and seventh-round pick Purdy is the next man up if something happens to Garoppolo. He's had the chance to get to know Lance well since joining the team in the spring.
"For me it was horrible, seeing him just make a play, run, and then all of a sudden, not get up. ... All of us were just heartbroken when we saw it," Purdy said. "To see him in the training room, and just him on the table, it's like, 'Gosh, that's what sucks about this sport,' when you see very close friends and teammates go down like that. But it's part of the game."
WR/RB Deebo Samuel
Samuel was visibly disappointed about Lance's injury, which took place just moments after Samuel broke off a 51-yard run.
"At first I really didn't know what happened," Samuel said. "I just saw Trey on the ground, hoping he can get up. Just seeing all the work Trey put in from last year to this year, it kind of broke my heart. I prayed for him. He's a great guy. That's what makes him so special."
Lance was replaced by a familiar face in Jimmy Garoppolo, but Samuel found it hard to move on to Garoppolo at first given what went down.
"It was kind of difficult at first," Samuel said. "I was just thinking about what happened to Trey. Like I just said, with all the hard work he put in and all the hard work day in and day out he put in to be a leader of this offense, to see him go down kind of hurt. But we have the right culture and next man up. Jimmy came in and played a pretty good game."
LB Fred Warner
Warner and the 49ers defense had a terrific day, holding the Seahawks to zero points on offense while shutting down their running game. But the mood was soured in the locker room after Lance went down.
"Just real somber," Warner said. "You hate to see a guy go down like that. I didn't really know what was going on until I kind of asked around. It just sucks. Those things are just freak accidents that are unfortunate. I'm just feeling bad for Trey."
FB Kyle Juszczyk
Juszczyk was supportive when talking about Lance and spoke highly of the progress he made to this point.
"We really do feel for Trey on so many levels -- on a personal level, on a professional level," Juszczyk said. "That's our quarterback, man. We supported him all the way through, and we were so excited for the development that he was making and what he was going to do this season for us. For him to go down with an injury so quickly, it truly is unfortunate."
DL Arik Armstead
Armstead is a player who has been there through all the 49ers' quarterback injuries. He's understandably upset to see it happen again, especially to a player with a bright future.
"Super frustrating, especially thinking about the road he's going to have, and how tough that is on him," Armstead said. "You never want to see your brother or one of your teammates get hurt. That's super frustrating but football is super tough, and it's just kind of part of the game."
OT Mike McGlinchey
McGlinchey is coming off a season-ending injury himself and knows what Lance is about to go through. He's happy to have Garoppolo on the roster to fill in for Lance but says it won't be easy to move on from Sunday.
"You can't win in this league without a starting quarterback, and fortunately for us, we were able to keep two of them," McGlinchey said. "And this is kind of a situation, I think, why you keep a guy like Jimmy on [the roster]. Unfortunately, circumstances is what it is, but it gives us a chance to win. At the end of the day, we're in a good spot because of Jimmy Garoppolo but it's going to take some time for us to heal and get over something that hurts so much."
WR Jauan Jennings
Jennings was emotional when talking about Lance, whom he worked with throughout the offseason. He talked to reporters about what he said to Lance after the injury.
"'We got your back, man. Good luck, bro. Just love, bro.' That's it," Jennings said. "It was sad. I don't really like even thinking about it, talking about it. I hate that. I just hate it, bro, for real."
DE Nick Bosa
Bosa has had multiple season-ending injuries during his football career, the latest coming in 2020. He had a chance to speak to Lance after the game.
"I talked to him a little bit. It's the worst part of the game obviously," Bosa said. "It happens instantly and there's no going back. Once it happens, obviously you feel like your life is over for a certain amount of time... If he gets surgery, whenever that is, then that kind of starts your road back. It's not going to be easy, but he will be back and he'll be fine. It's just really tough right now."
Regarding Lance's mood, Bosa said, "He's down in the dumps. It's hard to know exactly what he's feeling right now, but I think he knows that he's going to be fine."
Bosa also talked about the fact the 49ers held onto Garoppolo.
"Definitely turns out to be a very smart move for us," Bosa said. "The fact we have a quarterback who has done so much for this organization already and has all the experience he has and the fact we get him back is very big for our team. We're excited for him but obviously we're hurting for Trey."
David Bonilla contributed to this article.
