18 July 2023 , 17:00
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Kyle Juszczyk leapt to the defence of San Francisco 49ers teammate Trey Lance as the quarterback prepares for a battle for the starting spot with the team next season.
Speculation regarding the 23-year-old’s teammate standing among his peers began when the team attended a basketball game this offseason and he was absent. But the full back was full of praise for the youngster and he has the full support of the team.
“Trey is beloved in our locker room,” Juszczyk told 49erswebzone.com. “Everybody loves Trey. The dude really does work his ass off. He’s super personable. He is a very well-liked guy. So for whatever reason that he wasn’t at the basketball game, it’s not because we don’t like him.”
The team’s quarterbacks are set to report for training camp this week along with the rookies, while the rest of the squad will commence training on July 25. Lance is set to compete for the second quarterback slot with Sam Darnold if Brock Purdy is fit to start the season as the first choice player in that position.
Lance has suffered some injuries over the last two seasons, which started with breaking his right index finger in the final preseason game of 2021. The player then broke his ankle in just the second week of the last campaign. But he is now back to full fitness and has a chance to excel, especially after taking part in some previous training sessions with reigning Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes.
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Darnold, who was also absent from the basketball game with the rest of his teammates, completed 82-of-140 passes (58.6%) for 1,143 yards with seven touchdowns and three interceptions with the Carolina Panthers last season. He joined the 49ers in March of this year and after suffering injury issues of his own last year, the 26-year-old is raring to go.
“These last couple of weeks, I've been doing [physical therapy], working out a little bit,” he said ahead of training camp. “But going to start ramping it up here and get going so I'm ready for camp.” Earlier in July an ESPN insider provided their thoughts on who may have the upper hand between Lance and Darnold going into next season.
Lance has stiff competition at the San Francisco 49ers for the quarterback position (Brandon Sloter/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)“My guess would be Darnold has a chance to really shine and excel,” they said. “But there's a lot of preseason football left for those two guys to distinguish themselves. Brock Purdy is the one, if healthy. And I think going into camp, Sam Darnold, I think, has the edge going into camp.
“But, by the way, Trey Lance could play great. He worked over the summer with [Chiefs QB Patrick] Mahomes, and I heard he's made tremendous improvement. I'm anxious to see how much he's improved and whether he can make that jump. Let's see it."
The 49ers reached the NFL Conference Championships last season where they suffered defeat to the Philadephia Eagles. They are set to commence the new season against the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 18.