Obviously, that was out of the question with the quarterback only days removed from the procedure. The swelling has to go down before traveling becomes an option.
Lance was persistent, though. He couldn't travel with his teammates but was able to join them for that Friday's team meetings in Santa Clara. It was just four days after his surgery, and was a pleasant surprise for everyone.
"Everybody came up, gave him hugs," FOX Sports insider Jay Glazer shared during a Q&A with fans this week. "So they still firmly believe this will be his team and will probably be a six-month recovery from his injury."
Lance is sidelined for the remainder of the season and was replaced by Jimmy Garoppolo. However, the injured quarterback remains a big part of the 49ers' future plans.
"Obviously, it's not Trey Lance's team this year because he's hurt," Glazer said. "It will be his team next year. They still have full faith that Trey Lance is their future."
Garoppolo is the present. He is QB1 moving forward. That is until the 49ers' season ends and the quarterback hits free agency in 2021. There will be no quarterback controversy in the coming months, and there is unlikely to be one in 2023 unless Garoppolo exceeds expectations and guides the Niners to a Super Bowl victory. Of course, that won't happen if his play doesn't improve from what we saw in Denver on Sunday night.
"As far as Jimmy Garoppolo is concerned, obviously, it's his team this season, then he'll be a free agent," Glazer shared. "What this also does, is I think we were looking at a 49ers season—because you're gonna have some bumps, some ups and downs for Trey Lance, and every time that happened, people were going to start clamoring, 'Where's Jimmy G? It's time to put Jimmy G in.'
"Obviously, they now no longer have to deal with that. So, Trey Lance, he's just going to recover this year. Jimmy G, a free agent after the season."
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