Report: 49ers have inquired about trade for interior O-lineman originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
If you were hoping the 49ers’ preseason finale would help with any Trey Lance uncertainty, it didn’t. And San Francisco’s offensive line didn’t make it any easier.
As all eyes were locked on the young QB during the 49ers’ 17-0 loss to the Houston Texans on Thursday at NRG Stadium, it was hard not to notice how vulnerable the inexperienced O-line was.
That’s why the 49ers have recently engaged in trade talks for an interior O-lineman, The San Francisco Chronicle’s Eric Branch reported, citing league sources, but a deal does not appear to be forthcoming.
As of now, it appears the interior starters will be rookie guard Spencer Burford, left guard Aaron Banks and center Jake Brendel.
But as Kyle Shanahan mentioned on Thursday, he’s got some time to figure it out.
The O-line, after committing three false starts in a row at the end of the first half on Thursday, will also need to figure things out and find some chemistry on the field to better protect Lance.
With both nine-time Pro Bowler Trent Williams and fifth-year starter Mike McGlinchey inactive, the lack of experience on the offensive line was, unfortunately, all too evident.
“It’s been sporadic every week,” Shanahan told reporters after Thursday’s game. “We’ve been mixing these young guys in there. It’s been good for them to get a lot of reps. You always want more but we’ve got 17 days here to Week 1.”
And with the best tackle in the league leading the way, it would be a shame if whoever lines up next to him can’t follow suit by Week 1.
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In Thursday’s loss, Lance was on the field for 22 snaps and was sacked just once but was scrambling half of the time. He ended the night completing 7 of his 11 passes for 49 yards in the loss.
With just over two weeks to get it together, Lance hopefully will be able to focus less on being sacked and more on moving the chains.
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