A completely nothing story, or cause for concern?
That’s the question after veteran NFL reporter Mike Silver and Colin Cowherd had a discussion about the 49ers’ quarterback situation last week, with both saying they’d heard from sources that San Francisco is reconstructing Trey Lance’s throwing motion due to the arm fatigue that comes with his current delivery.
Apparently Lance’s current motion is so taxing on his body that he had to take days off from throwing at times last season. Silver used it as one example as to why there is some concern about Lance as the 49ers’ starting QB, and why Kyle Shanahan is tempted to hedge and keep Jimmy Garoppolo around.
So, is this legit, or just a talking point used to fill up airtime during the dog days of summer? According to 49ers beat writer Matt Maiocco, the arm fatigue concerns aren’t unfounded, but they also aren’t something that is considered a legitimate worry.
“It was late in the season, I was standing on the 49ers sideline before a game and talking to let’s say a high-ranking team official, and we were just looking out there at Trey Lance,” Maiocco began with Tolbert & Copes on KNBR. “I noted some things with his throwing motion and it was said to me that that’s something that they’re monitoring just the way he throws. It’s something that they’ll see how his arm bounces back when he’s throwing a lot.
“Is it a thing? It’s a thing but I don’t see it being anything that I think we’ll ever talk about after the first couple days of training camp, when me and the other reporters get all of our questions about the arm fatigue or arm fitness out of the way. To my knowledge he’s never missed practice time because of the arm, but I do know that it’s something…I guess when you have a guy that you’ve invested so much in, you’re going to monitor this stuff anyway. But I do know they’re going to keep a very close eye on how his arm feels and the pitch count of how many throws per day is okay, but I think they do that with every quarterback.”
Lance is known to have an incredibly strong arm, but harnessing that arm strength and turning him into an accurate quarterback will be the key to his success. It’s possible that Lance’s focus on throwing the ball as hard as possible is something that has taken an unnecessary toll on his arm during practice, and the 49ers are working with him to eliminate unnecessary exertion.
“It’s a deal, it’s been talked about, but I would be surprised if it’s a big deal,” Maiocco concluded.
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