The news from Tennessee on Tuesday was that 49ers director of player personnel Ran Carthon has become the Titans’ G.M. Then came an interesting P.S.
49ers quarterback Trey Lance posted on his Instagram story a photo of Carthon. Beneath the image were a trio of fingers-crossed emojis.
Whatever Lance’s intent, it’s reasonable to wonder whether Lance has his fingers crossed in the hopes that Carthon will, in his new job, trade for Lance.
Even if that’s not the message Lance intended to send, people will assume it’s what he meant. And, frankly, it would be hard to blame Lance for wanting out.
They went all in to get him in 2021, devoting three first-round picks and a third-round pick to the acquisition of Lance. The expectations and the pressure became immense. And it feels as if he’s never fully been embraced.
From sticking with Jimmy Garoppolo in 2021 to keeping Garoppolo around in 2022 to the obvious implications of the emergence of Brock Purdy, who could blame Lance for wanting out?
The Titans may be in the market for a quarterback in 2023. Ryan Tannehill has a $36.6 million cap number and a $27 million base salary in the final year of his deal. The Titans are potentially considering their options.
Maybe Lance is one of them. Maybe Lance, based on his social-media post about the team’s new G.M., hopes he’ll be.