Aiyuk praises Lance’s short-term memory after toughest practice originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
SANTA CLARA — After what was arguably Trey Lance’s worst practice of training camp, Brandon Aiyuk gave an update on the 49ers quarterback’s mental state.
It was a shorter practice than the club had on Saturday, where Lance was able to put together multiple long and productive drives. On Sunday, the young play caller was only able to complete four of his 12 pass attempts, with his last throw ending up in Fred Warner’s hands for an interception.
Aiyuk shared that Lance did not appear flustered at all, taking it all in as a learning experience that he will use in his preparation for the regular season. After all, that’s why it’s called practice.
“The best thing about Trey is he walks off the practice field and he’s still exactly the same way today,” Aiyuk said on Sunday. “He talked to us after a couple of plays that he wishes he had back and he talked to us the same way as if he would have hit a play — what he did see, what he didn’t see, what he liked.”
Aiyuk has been Lance’s favorite target through 10 days of practice but the two were only able to connect once (in three attempts) during Sunday’s session. The Arizona State product isn’t worried about his quarterback, knowing the potential Lance has with the ball in his hands.
Hitting a third consecutive day of practice after what might have been the longest session on Saturday could also be a factor, according to Aiyuk. In the “dog days” of training camp, all players experience ups and downs.
“One thing I’ve learned is that you never know what these guys’ arms feel like,” Aiyuk said. “Same thing for us, we go out there some days, our legs are tired. They may expect us to break out of a route and come out of our breaks a lot faster than we did, and our legs are a little bit tired so we can’t do that.
“They are coming out here and throwing a bunch of balls, so we just got to look at it, correct it after a day off, and get better.”
The 49ers will take Monday off for some much-needed rest after three practices in a row. They will then practice Tuesday and Wednesday in preparation for their first preseason contest, hosting the Green Bay Packers on Friday.
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Aiyuk indicated that Lance will be working as diligently after Sunday’s practice as he would if he went 12-for-12 and that no one on the roster is thinking twice about their quarterback’s mental state.
“He’s still talking to us trying to figure it out,” Aiyuk said. “He’s a level, even-keel dude so we don’t worry about him at all really. We will look at it and move on. That is what practice is for.”
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