EAGAN, Minn. — Quarterback Trey Lance is not expected to get onto the field for the 49ers’ preseason game Saturday against the Minnesota Vikings.
Lance will cap his preseason next week against the Houston Texans, then all energy will be placed into getting ready for the 49ers’ regular-season opener on Sept. 11 against the Chicago Bears.
With the bulk of training camp in the rearview mirror, Lance’s top targets throughout the team’s practice sessions were exactly the teammates you would expect: tight end George Kittle and wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk.
With our All Access Daily newsletter, stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams!
SIGN UP HERE Lance said it was not that those were the players he sought out for his pass attempts as much as that’s where his reads and defense dictate where his throws should go. During the two practice sessions against the Vikings, Lance completed 23 of 35 pass attempts.
“Playing football, it’s kind of throwing where the defense tells me where to throw the ball,” Lance said. “I don’t just go back and pick a guy.
“But, yeah, absolutely I’m finding rhythm.”
After the 49ers’ first of their two practice sessions with the Vikings, Lance said there was plenty from that day to go back and study. He missed one throw to Kittle and another to Samuel. When he goes through the plays that did not work, Lance said he finds corrections that can be implemented later.
San Francisco 49ers
Find the latest San Francisco 49ers news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.
Lance still is working on his chemistry with Samuel. The two did not spend much time together in the offseason while Lance was conducting his throwing sessions away from Santa Clara with some of the team’s other receivers.
“He’s done a great job these last few days,” Lance said. “Just again, the more reps we get together, the more stuff we get to watch together the better we’re going to be.”
One of Lance’s better plays during the joint practices was a fourth-and-long play in which he found Samuel on a scramble drill. The play went for nearly 30 yards.
Lance has gone through the ups and downs on the practice field that can be expected from any first-year starter in the NFL. The offense did not come through with many explosive plays, which seemed to leave Aiyuk a bit exasperated.
RELATED: Lance, 49ers O-line challenged during Vikings joint practice
Aiyuk said the joint practices were a waste of time. But Lance certainly does not feel that way. After all, any work he can get — good, bad or indifferent — gives him an opportunity to gain experience and learn.
And as difficult of a time as the 49ers’ offense had moving the ball during the practices, Kirk Cousins and the Vikings offense had their own troubles against the stout 49ers’ pass rush.
“For me, just trying to come out here every day and trying to get better, taking it one step at a time, especially with these practices,” Lance said. “One step at a time, one day at a time, and just continuing to groove with these guys.”
