49ers' Trey Lance addresses arm fatigue rumors from 2022

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance has addressed reports about his supposed arm fatigue that hovered over his status throughout last offseason. 

"Yeah, it was just honestly, I don't know," Lance told quarterback coach Quincy Avery during Thursday's edition of "The Q," per David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone. Lance added that he "threw from May 2020 all the way through that year, draft prep, get drafted the next April" and had been "throwing for a year straight and then go through that whole season until the next January." 

"I don't even know if I took a whole week [off] between that whole time. But through that whole season, yeah, for probably 20 months straight," Lance said. 

According to Bonilla, Lance didn't vehemently deny that his arm may have looked fatigued or weak during springtime workouts last year. 

It was reported in May 2022 that Lance was "really leaving a lot to be desired in terms of the fitness of his arm." A doctor poured cold water over such worries, and any issues regarding Lance's throwing mechanics were ultimately blamed on an injury to the index finger on his throwing hand that he suffered during a preseason game in August 2021. 

However, Fox Sports' Colin Cowherd and NFL insider Michael Silver resurrected the "arm fatigue" subject in July. 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk made a joke about the topic via Instagram that same month, and head coach Kyle Shanahan later insisted ahead of preseason action that Lance's arm was "not a concern at all." 

In the end, such conversations and rumors mattered little. Lance went down with a season-ending ankle injury in Week 2 this past September that left him needing two surgeries, but he's nevertheless again atop the depth chart with veteran Jimmy Garoppolo heading toward free agency and 2022 rookie Brock Purdy essentially out indefinitely due to the torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow he suffered in the NFC Championship Game. 

In total, Lance has started four regular-season games and attempted just 102 passes over those contests since the 2021 NFL Draft. There's little he can do this winter to silence doubts about his talents or physical abilities, particularly among those who think Purdy should start for the 49ers whenever that's possible.