“Whether it’s in their mind or not, that’s up to them,” HC Kyle Shanahan said. “But we’ve got two guys who can play. And we’ve been doing it in practice a little bit, wanted to do it out there in the game. And I think it’s always going to be an option.”

Related players: Jimmy Garoppolo, Trey Lance

The basis of the story was it was fun to watch. The players were interviewed and agreed it was fun. But realistically both would probably rather play every snap and be the QB1 vs. alternating play-to-play, like was done at times against the Raiders in preseason Week 3. It's also not fun for fantasy owners wondering who to plug in lineups week-to-week. Because Shanahan said this could be an option, fantasy owners may have to wait this out a little bit before inserting either QB into their Week 1 starting lineups. At this point, maybe the 49ers aren't going to let Lance just sit on the bench and take it all in.

I asked Kyle Shanahan specifically if the QB dynamic has changed much since he opened camp saying Jimmy Garoppolo is the clearer starter.

His answer: "No. I haven't seen that. I would love for it to be more and more each week. But I think the situation's pretty similar right now."

Related players: Trey Lance

Kawakami broke it down even further, saying his interpretation is Garoppolo is going to start Week 1, and he put it as a 75% chance now. He thinks Lance is going to start at some point this season and feels very confident about that.

The notion that Trey Lance could overtake Jimmy Garoppolo early in the season, which seemed so farfetched on draft day and after OTAs, appears far more realistic today.

In short, Lance has been aggressive, which has to please head coach and play caller Kyle Shanahan, who — you may have read about this once or twice — prefers an always-attacking mentality, the story went on to say. Keep in mind, there have only been four practices, and Shanahan likely will be stingy in his praise of Lance. He’ll want to keep the pressure on the rookie the story said. This is certainly worth watching.

During his press conference with the media Monday, 49ers head coach said he believes Jimmy Garoppolo will be the team’s starting quarterback in 2021.

The future of the position has been an interesting topic in recent weeks with the injuries to Garoppolo, his contract (no guaranteed money after this season) and the 49ers possibly in position to draft a quarterback in 2021, even if they have to move up for one. The team will finish with a losing record and be the latest to suffer a Super Bowl hangover. Garoppolo will have the 11th-highest quarterback cap hit in 2021 at $26.9 million dollars, but they would save $24.1 million in cap space if they move on from him. It will be an interesting offseason surrounding the former NFC champions.

49ers are signing QB Josh Rosen off the Buccaneers practice squad on to SF’s active roster.

Related players: C.J. Beathard, Nick Mullens, Jimmy Garoppolo

The Niners are in need of another QB with Garoppolo not likely to play this week and Mullens also injured. It leaves them with only Beathard, who is projected to start this week.

Heading into the contest, Brandon Aiyuk had played one game in the last month and the thought was that he’d have fresh legs against the Bills. Nick Mullens targeted him nine times and Aiyuk finished with five catches for 95 yards, including a rare — for the 49ers — deep ball down the sideline for 49 yards.

How rare was it? According to the NFL’s NextGen stats, the ball traveled 54.1 yards in the air. That ranks in the middle of the pack among NFL long balls but is the longest completed throw in terms of air yards by a 49ers quarterback this season. Jimmy Garoppolo had a completion that traveled 43.1 yards earlier this season. Garoppolo had one of 57.2 yards — to Emmanuel Sanders against the Saints — last season.

Aiyuk also drew a pass-interference penalty on a deep ball on the 49ers’ opening drive that flipped the field position and indirectly led to the 49ers’ first score — a 2-yard pass to Aiyuk. Reports said Aiyuk is more of a pure receivers vs. Deebo Samuel who is also used a lot in sweeps and gadget plays. Aiyuk could be worth a grab if he's still on your wire.

To view Jalen Hurts as the Eagles’ likely quarterback of the future would be a mistake. The most likely scenario is that Hurts is not the long-term answer. That’s not me being harsh and counting a guy out before he even starts a game. That’s just what history tells us. From 2008 to 2017 (I’m using this range so that we get at least three full years of each player), 24 quarterbacks were taken on Day 2 of the draft. Among that group, six became starters: Russell Wilson, Derek Carr, Colin Kaepernick, Nick Foles, Andy Dalton and Jimmy Garoppolo. This is not complex math, but we can say that the chances based on that sample of finding a starter in the second or third round is roughly 25 percent.

Related players: Carson Wentz

The story went on to say the one thing the Eagles cannot do is convince themselves that Hurts is the guy after a four-game sample. The goal should just be information gathering. It’s possible they learn that the offensive system and surrounding talent aren’t the problem, and the issues were even more Wentz-related than suspected. It’s also possible they discover the offensive system and surrounding talent are the problem, and it doesn’t really matter who’s playing quarterback, the story all said. The author said given that Hurts had a shortened offseason and no preseason, he would expect that we’d see a heavy QB-inclusive run game and a simplified passing game in which he’s encouraged to take off if he doesn’t like what he sees - for those interested in plugging in Hurts for Week 14.

Kyle Shanahan was asked about the prospect of getting George Kittle and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo back into the lineup. Garoppolo suffered a high-ankle sprain in the team’s November 1 loss to the Seahawks, which was the same day that Kittle was injured and Shanahan suggested both players need more time before they can think about activating them from injured reserve.

“Those guys are working their tails off right now,” Shanahan said, via Chris Biderman of the Sacramento Bee. “But they’re still part of the rehab, just trying to get back and be a part of this, but it’s not anytime soon right now.”

Kittle said last week that he expects to return from a broken bone in his foot “sooner than later,” according to the story, which caused a bit of a buzz and likely had fantasy owners scrambling to pick up Kittle off the wire and stash him on IR. While anything can happen, those hopes seem to be squashed based on this story. Still, if you can afford to stash Kittle on IR as you head into the fantasy playoffs, it may not be a terrible idea. However roster sports are extra valuable right now.

The 49ers have been without start tight end George Kittle and starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo for the last month, but there may be a light at the end of the tunnel.

“I’m holding out hope for Jimmy for the last couple of weeks,” San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan said, via Cam Inman of The Mercury News. “Same with Kittle. I think they’re in a similar boat, but that I mean that’s not guaranteed.”

Related players: Nick Mullens, Jordan Reed

Kittle is a name to pay attention to especially. If he's popped up on your waiver wire, you may want to take a shot on picking up a potential stud if you're planning a deep playoff run. Kittle can be stashed on IR until the timeline becomes more clear. If the 9ers are able to make the playoffs, it seems like both players may have a shot to be back by then.

On Tuesday, Kyle Shanahan was asked how he viewed Jimmy Garoppolo's future beyond this season, and Shanahan said that nothing has changed.

"I expect Jimmy to be our starter next year," Shanahan said, via David Lombardi of The Athletic. "I mean, I expect him to come and play with us this year. We have six games left. We are not out of the playoffs yet. I've been on a team that was 3-6 going into a bye week that ended up winning their division. I think we have guys on this team capable of finishing this the right way. We've gotta do it one game at a time and I hope Jimmy can come back and be a part of that but to think that we've made any decisions on anybody going into the future isn't the case. Jimmy has won a lot of games for us this year. It's a lot harder to win games when he's not here. Just hoping we can get him back."

With two years remaining on his contract, the 49ers can save $24.1 million in salary cap space by moving on from Garoppolo after the season, so the franchise has a decision to make, the story said. After a career year in which Garoppolo led the 49ers to a 13-3 record and Super Bowl appearance, he has thrown for just 1,096 yards, seven touchdowns and five interceptions in six games so far this year.