SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
Report: Trey Lance makes ‘substantial jump’ with Patrick Mahomes alongside him
May 22, 2023, 8:30 AM | Updated: 10:27 am
HOUSTON, TEXAS - AUGUST 25: Trey Lance #5 of the San Francisco 49ers looks to pass during the first quarter of a preseason game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium on August 25, 2022 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
(Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance has been busy in the offseason. After suffering a season-ending injury in 2022, Lance is finally seeing progress with his arm ahead of year three.
Reports surfaced last Friday that the former third-overall pick has made substantial progress in his throwing mechanics this offseason. Lance has been training with various coaches and players, including league MVP Patrick Mahomes in Texas. Working alongside him and quarterbacks coach Jeff Christensen, the North Dakota State alum has been able to get past mental and physical barriers that have labored him in the past.
“I said, ‘Watch this. Watch what he does here,'” Christensen said to Matt Barrows of The Athletic. “It was something I was telling him to do that he wasn’t quite doing. And then he saw Patrick apply it perfectly. And I think that visual buy-in, that mental buy-in, helped him past that mental hump.”
Legendary quarterbacks coach Jeff Christensen said that #49ers QB Trey Lance, “kept getting better and better” during his offseason workouts with #NFL superstar Patrick Mahomes:
“Every day was a substantial jump.”
👀👀👀 pic.twitter.com/SjvQUmXj4f
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) May 19, 2023
A part of that mental bump was a previous injury to his index finger.
Suffering the fracture in the 2021 preseason, the injury never allowed the QB to work on his throwing motion, stunting his growth in the process. Another was arm fatigue.
Lance would often experience fatigue after throwing the football for too long. Partially due to the injury and other factors, he seems to have moved past that barrier as well this spring.
“And I called him in ’Frisco on Saturday at noon,” Christensen stated. “And he thought for sure his arm would be killing him. And I said, ‘OK, how’s your arm?’ He said, ‘I cannot believe I woke up and it was not sore at all.’”
Trey Lance still possesses all of the talents that made him a top-3 selection. But after the first up-and-down seasons with San Francisco, the gunslinger has been placed as an afterthought for most football fans. Luckily the players haven’t given up, with Mahomes extremely encouraged with Lance’s development over a week-long training session.
Christensen said Trey Lance’s competitiveness and demeanor reminded him of Patrick Mahomes.
“Pat really thinks the world of him.”https://t.co/qyGDAwgEdt pic.twitter.com/LphPw4tN81
— Steph Sanchez (@Steph49K) May 19, 2023
“He really fit right in,” Christensen added. “Pat really thinks the world of him. He’s just a really good person, conscientious. He wants to be great. And he’s one of the few kids whose actions match his words. He backs it up. He shows up every day and he wants to learn. And that’s why I teach him.
“And to his credit he just kept getting better…[Over] the last seven days, every day was a substantial jump.”
After only a few months of noteworthy progress, the results will look to be shown to the world this season, starting with OTAs this week. The proverbial backup to Brock Purdy, Lance will get another chance at winning the starting job while his fellow QB is recovering from off-season elbow surgery. And while San Francisco prefers Purdy at the moment, a lot can change over the summer.
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