Trey Lance emphatically shoots down trade rumors with Titans

Not so fast, Titans fans: 49ers quarterback Trey Lance isn’t going anywhere. Lance personally cleared the air after rumors started spreading about him wanting a trade out of SF.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance’s future is clearer than that of other signal-callers in his class (Justin Fields and Zach Wilson to name two), yet even he’s not above rampant speculation.

Last month, the Tennessee Titans announced they were hiring then-49ers director of player personnel Ran Carthon to be the team’s general manager. Lance reposted the Titans’ announcement and added several crossed-finger emojis, which people took to be his desire to join Carthon in Tennessee.

Lance debunked the rumors on Thursday while on air in an interview with quarterback trainer Quincy Avery, noting that his post was a “mistake” and he has no plans of leaving San Francisco anytime soon.

Lance told Avery that he and Carthon developed a very close relationship in the last two seasons and that Lance only wanted to wish Carthon luck in his new endeavor.

“I was super happy for him. The fingers crossed emoji wasn’t like ‘cross my fingers emoji, I want to be a Tennessee Titan.’ I love it here. I don’t want to be anywhere else. That’s my No. 1 used emoji too.”

49ers quarterback Trey Lance restates his commitment to franchise following trade rumors

Lance, the 2021 third overall pick, was named the 49ers’ starter ahead of the 2022 season, but he suffered a season-ending injury in Week 2, delaying his opportunity to play out his first full season for San Francisco.

Whereas veteran Jimmy Garoppolo doesn’t appear to be part of Kyle Shanahan’s quarterback plans moving forward, 2022 fifth-rounder Brock Purdy is.

Shanahan has a tough decision to make regarding which quarterback to start in 2023, a decision that will hinge on each players’ respective recoveries.

Lance, who underwent ankle surgery last year, is expected to be back on the field this May. Purdy, who injured his throwing elbow in the NFC Championship, will hopefully be ready by the team’s training camp.

Purdy’s unexpected rise from “Mr. Irrelevant” to OPOY candidate still has many wondering if the 49ers will be open to trade offers this offseason as a handful of teams would probably give up a chunk of draft capital to pry Lance away from Shanahan’s hands.

Even after Lance cleared up the rumors, the 49ers’ quarterback situation is just as dicey as before.