The 49ers have won eight straight games entering Week 17, as their quarterback-related injury issues have not stopped the 2022 season from being a successful one. That has drawn attention away from their Week 1 starter, but a notable update on his status has emerged.
Trey Lance underwent a second surgery on his right ankle earlier this week, as detailed by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The procedure was successful, fortunately, and the 22-year-old remains on track to continue his rehab. Lance is therefore still expected to be recovered in time for individual and team workouts in the spring.
A team statement issued one day after the surgery took place reads in part, “The second procedure was performed to remove hardware that was inserted during the initial surgery in September. Due to the location of the fracture, the required hardware placement was close to a tendon in Lance’s ankle. During the rehab process, their close proximity proved to cause irritation in his ankle. After consulting with multiple experts, the decision was made to have the hardware removed to prevent future issues in the ankle.”
Lance went down in the second game of the 2022 season, the first in which he was named San Francisco’s starter. One day after suffering the injury, he had the first operation done to begin the the recovery process. The ailment marked a hugely disappointing end to the campaign for last year’s third overall pick, and threatened to derail the 49ers’ season given their work spent in the months prior tailoring the offense to his skillset. Veteran Jimmy Garoppolo steadied the ship, however, before suffering his own season-ending injury in Week 13.
That has left rookie Brock Purdy in place for the No. 1 role, something which has yet to cause an issue for San Francisco’s offense. Purdy has won each of his three starts, and the team ranks eighth in the league and 10th in scoring over the course of the year. Given their two consecutive smooth transitions to new signal-callers, some around the league have predicted that Lance could be on his way out of the Bay Area this offseason via a trade, one which would of course represent a surprising end to his tenure with the team.
Such a move would still be unlikely even if Purdy continues to have success down the stretch and into the postseason, with Lance being under contract through at least 2024 on his rookie pact. In the meantime, the latter will look to make a full recovery on the path to reclaiming (or at least competing for) his starting role in the summer.
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