"Hold on to Jimmy G" - Rich Eisen begs 49ers to take Jimmy Garoppolo off the market

The San Francisco 49ers should name Trey Lance their day one starter, according to NFL analyst Rich Eisen. It has long been taken for granted that Jimmy Garropolo and the Niners would have a conscious uncoupling, ever since San Francisco moved up the 2021 draft board, to use the third overall selection on the North Dakota State prospect.

Speaking on his self-titled "The Rich Eisen Show," the popular NFL commentator discussed the long-running saga and had the following take:

"Hold on to Jimmy G. In case Trey Lance isn't ready. Hold on to him in case he's not ready. Because if you start one and four, what happens next? You just gonna take your medicine? And the answer to that question I have for you is 'Yes, you have to take your medicine.'"

The 49ers love Trey Lance, but will he start this year?

Due to the havoc caused to college football by the global pandemic, Lance was effectively a one-year starter coming out of college. That year was 2019, with Lance spectacularly going 16-0 and throwing 28 TDs to zero INTs, which was an NCAA record. Still, HC Kyle Shanahan regarded him as a project and signaled the 49ers intent early, by naming Garoppolo as the starter.

He did manage to start two games during his rookie season as Jimmy G picked up his customary injury, and he went 1-1 in a couple of solid but unspectatular outings, before handing the controls back to Garoppolo as he took the 49ers to the NFC championship game, where they lost narrowly to the eventual Super Bowl winners, the Los Angeles Rams.

Entering his second season, the young gunslinger still has the veteran cramping his style as he struggles to tear away the starting jersey. With June on the horizon, and 95% of teams settled on their starting QB, Garoppalo remains on the Niners roster, while rumors abound that Lance may be holding the clipboard for a second year. Eisen believes it would be a huge mistake, and many others seem to have the same opinion.

The Niners' entire handling of this situation has seen them receive fierce criticism from many quarters. Their approach can best be described as baffling, and at worst highly incompetent. Sources claimed that the 49ers rejected an offer of two second rounders for Jimmy G before the draft, and they have little hope of achieving anything close to that sort of return now.

Lance appears to have the support of his current teammates and a whole host of legendary former 49ers, as they queue up to offer their resounding endorsement of the young QB.

Whether that's enough to convince Shanahan, only time will tell. Having invested so heavily to get hold of their future franchise QB, if he was to sit for another season, the alarm bells would be ringing.