The San Francisco 49ers and their supporters will join the rest of the league on Thursday night when they tune in for the annual Hall of Fame Game to watch the Detroit Lions square off against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Fans in the Bay Area will see a familiar face right off the bat after Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh announced his team's plans at the quarterback spot for the first preseason game of the 2025 campaign.
After being shipped out of town following just eight games with the franchise, San Francisco's former first-round pick will look to shake free of the stigma that has been attached to him following his departure from Northern California.
Ex-49ers QB Trey Lance Earns Big Preseason Opportunity in HOF Game
Tuesday afternoon, Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh announced that former 49ers first-round pick Trey Lance would start the Hall of Fame Game and play into the third quarter, assuming all goes to plan.
#Chargers HC Jim Harbaugh says Trey Lance will get the start at QB in Thursday’s Hall of Fame Game
— Omar Navarro (@OmarNavarro____) July 29, 2025
Added if “all goes well” Lance will play the first half and a drive into the 3rd Q.
DJ Uiagalelei will take over from there and Taylor Heinicke will serve as emergency QB. pic.twitter.com/Oj6ovGkpDT
After turning heads with some of his passes in the opening weeks of camp, Lance will now have the opportunity to show what he can do against live opposition as he looks to re-establish his place among the league's signal callers.
With Justin Herbert entrenched as the unquestioned starter in Los Angeles, Lance is battling it out with Taylor Heinicke and DJ Uiagalelei for a spot on the depth chart. Whatever Lance can accomplish against the players deeper down Detroit's roster is going to go a long way toward determining where he falls in the pecking order among that group.
The fact of the matter is, the former Niners draft pick is running out of opportunities to prove himself in the NFL. It didn't work out for Lance in San Francisco. The same can be said about his time with the Dallas Cowboys. If he doesn't figure things out under the tutelage of Harbaugh in Los Angeles, there are no guarantees that another team will come calling with a contract offer.