Jerry Rice: 49ers should let Jimmy Garoppolo compete with Trey Lance

The future of San Francisco 49ers veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is very much up in the air now that the Carolina Panthers have landed former Cleveland Browns starter Baker Mayfield. 

Garoppolo spent organized team activities and mandatory minicamp recovering from March shoulder surgery while 2021 rookie Trey Lance served as San Francisco's QB1 and reportedly took command of the offense. For a segment that NFL Network aired on Thursday evening, 49ers legend and Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice offered high praise for Lance. 

He also spoke about a possible Garoppolo conundrum. 

"I don't know what the Niners are going to do with Jimmy G and Trey Lance. I know one thing: We don't want that carousel of back-and-forth during the season," Rice explained, according to Coral Smith of the league's website. "I think you have to name someone as the starter, you have to go with that individual and then you build around that quarterback."

Per Alex Espinoza of Audacy, Rice also touched upon the matter during a conversation with Kirsten Moran of 95.7 The Game and Nevada Sports Net. 

"Let 'em compete," Rice said of Garoppolo and Lance. "Bill Walsh always opened the door for competition, let them compete and the best guy should be the starter." 

One worry with such a plan is that Garoppolo could legitimately win such a battle and, in the process, cause Lance to lose at least some within the locker room.