
Kittle and Mohamed Sanu joined the “I AM ATHLETE” podcast
Mohamed Sanu and George Kittle were on the “I AM ATHLETE” podcast discussing everything from tea to Kittle’s routine the night before a game. It didn’t take long for former NFL wideout and host Brandon Marshall to ask, “Jimmy or Trey?”
In the most Kittle answer possible, he said, “I love all of my quarterbacks.” Then, after Sanu discussed the difference between both quarterbacks, Kittle gave a detailed answer:
“Trey has an insane ceiling. Just needs some reps here and there. Just gotta throw the ball a little bit more. You can’t really get better without playing games. How much better were you your rookie season to your third year? Just going against competition. Getting hit and getting back up. Dealing with adversity. How do you deal with it?
Guys that come to the NFL and win their entire life and get hit in the face a couple of times, it’s different. It’s a learning process. Jimmy was a fantastic person for Trey to learn under for sure.
We don’t know what’s going to happen with Jimmy. I have no idea. I find out everything on Twitter like everybody else. The year that Trey spent with him is very beneficial. We traded three first round picks for a QB and Jimmy still had two years left on his contract. It sends a message.
For Jimmy to handle everything the way he did from media to the coaches to playing, just unreal. I feel like 80% of the people would’ve been like, ‘screw you guys, I’m out.’”
One of the most frustrating parts of last season was knowing the 49ers would be in a situation entering 2022 where Lance would need development since he wasn’t going to play so long as Garoppolo was on the roster.
Here we are, an entire offseason later, and Jimmy is on the roster while Lance still needs seasoning. Of course, many are quick to point out the Niners making the NFC Championship whenever that gets brought up.
That ignores the process of how they got there and misses the inconsistent quarterback play in between. The Lance we saw against the Cardinals and Texans was to be expected. The train of thought, especially in an offense with the amount of firepower San Francisco has, is that Lance, with double-digit starts under his belt, would have been ready to lead the 49ers.
We’ve seen Fred Warner speak highly of Lance. Jimmie Ward did the same. Now, it’s Kittle talking about his ceiling. Sanu said you could sense Lance’s determination to get better. That’s a great sign when you know a player wants to get better and can sense it.
Lance can help himself this offseason by becoming a student of the game. He can help himself by mastering the playbook, protections and learning the mental aspect of the game that often sets younger quarterbacks behind.
Finally, Kittle was asked what he wanted to happen with Jimmy G.:
Trey’s got one of the highest ceilings I’ve ever seen before. Some of the things you see him do on a football field you’re like, ‘holy cow, I can’t wait until he throws me passes.’ I want whoever is going to be the better quarterback this season.
It is a business at the end of the day. We’re just monetary values. We’re just cogs in the machine. I trust Kyle Shanahan. I think he’s going to pick the best quarterback. I don’t have a preference. I don’t. I like both guys. They both bring different things to the table.
Kittle went on to say Trey reminds him of Josh Allen and compared both quarterbacks’ attributes. I’m not a quarterback expert, but I’ll take the guy who has the traits to become the best QB in the league.