For the past three years, the starting quarterback in San Francisco has been voted one of the team's captains heading into the season. That streak, however, ended this year when Trey Lance's teammates didn't vote him as one of the 49ers' six captains for 2022.
When the 49ers announced their captains this week, George Kittle, Trent Williams, Arik Armstead, Nick Bosa, Jimmie Ward and Fred Warner all made the list, but Lance didn't. Niners coach Kyle Shanahan was asked about the perceived slight to Lance on Wednesday and he downplayed the situation.
"If you look into it that much, he was seventh in the voting," Shanahan said of Lance. "I just didn't want to put seven on there. Deebo [Samuel] was eight. ... We just wanted to go with six. They don't allow eight to the coin toss, I don't believe."
The fact that Lance finished seventh in the voting is somewhat of an odd explanation because the 49ers had seven captains in each of the past two seasons. For whatever reason, Shanahan decided to cut the number off at six this year. Shanahan also explained that Lance wasn't a captain because it will be his first year under center for the 49ers.
"It's also his first year of starting for us," Shanahan said. "There's not many rookies who end up being the captains. I know this is his second year, but he's a rookie for us in terms of this is his first time being our starting quarterback."
That's also a somewhat odd explanation because Jimmy Garoppolo was voted a captain during his first year as a starter with the 49ers. Garoppolo was traded to San Francisco midway through the 2018 season and then voted a captain in 2019, which was his first season as the team's full-time starting quarterback.
Shanahan added that if he had wanted Lance to be a captain this year, he simply could have made it happen.
"I always get the final tally and I could cheat if I wanted to," Shanahan said. "I actually didn't at all. I agreed with all their choices and I just made the decision not to have eight of them."
As for Lance, if he's bothered by the fact that he wasn't voted a captain, he didn't show it when he was asked about the situation this week.
"Obviously, that's a goal of mine, but I don't think you can look at any six of those guys and be like, 'That guy's a bozo,' because those guys have all played football at a very, very high level," Lance said Wednesday, via NBC Sports Bay Area. "So yeah, situations are different, I'm excited. I voted for every single one of those guys, so I think each and every one of them deserves it. ... Being a captain] is definitely a goal of mine moving forward, but those guys have all proved it, and that's what this league is all about."
The 49ers are putting their 2022 hopes in Lance's hands, and if he can't deliver, being voted a captain by his teammates will be the least of his worries going forward.
