Trey Lance to start in place of injured Jimmy Garoppolo in Week 5

UPDATE: Kyle Shanahan announced that Trey Lance will start on Sunday vs. the Cardinals.

Friday PM update: Jimmy Garoppolo is not practicing on Friday, per Cam Inman, which indicates he will be unavailable on Sunday against the Cardinals. This means Trey Lance will get the start in Week 5.

Friday AM update: The 49ers return to practice on Friday and GM John Lynch said Friday morning that the day is “critical” for the QB. If he cannot go today, Trey Lance would start on Sunday.

Thursday update: There is no sign of Jimmy Garoppolo as the 49ers began their Thursday practice, per Matt Maiocco. The team will release their Thursday injury report later in the day, but he is likely to be listed as a DNP.

Wednesday update: Jimmy Garoppolo will not practice on Wednesday, per Cam Inman, as the team begins preparations for Week 5 vs. the Cardinals. Trey Lance will take first team reps and Garoppolo’s status remains unclear for Sunday. Head coach Kyle Shanahan told the media Garoppolo’s calf is feeling better but doctors wanted to give him another day of rest and “he’s got a chance,” per Niners Nation.

Monday update: Kyle Shanahan told the media on Monday that Garoppolo has a chance to play on Sunday against Arizona, according to Cam Inman. Shanahan said the injury “wasn’t as bad as we thought it might have been.” Garoppolo is dealing with pain and soreness, but if it gets better on Wednesday, “he has a good chance” of playing this weekend.

The Trey Lance era appears to be starting a little earlier than expected, to some extent. San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo injured his calf in the first half of Week 4 against the Seattle Seahawks and is hopeful the injury is only a problem for a couple weeks.

Garoppolo played the first half before Lance took over to open the second half of Sunday’s loss to Seattle. Garoppolo was 14 of 23 for 165 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Lance was 9 of 18 for 157 yards with two touchdowns and 41 rushing yards.

Fantasy football implications

Lance seems on track to start next week against the Cardinals. He showed off his mobility, but his accuracy was problematic in his first extended playing opportunity. He was as inconsistent as you would expect from a raw but high upside rookie. It could cause problems for Arizona, but it could also be an ugly performance.

For fantasy managers, he’s an obvious start in two QB leagues and even some flex leagues, but the question is what to do in leagues where you only need one quarterback. He’s got tremendous upside, and considering how shaky he was when he replaced Garoppolo, he still had two touchdowns and the 41 rushing yards. He’s an intriguing option if you’re scuffling and need to roll the dice on upside.