Is Trey Lance angling to get out of San Francisco?

The second-year 49ers quarterback, whose first season as a starter was cut short after suffering a gruesome ankle injury in Week 2, made a curious post to his Instagram story Wednesday after the Titans hired former San Francisco director of player personnel Ran Carthon to be their new general manager.

Lance, 22, posted a picture of Carthon with three “fingers crossed” emojis immediately after Tennessee hired him. It could have been a quarterback sending best wishes to a man who probably had a say in drafting him to the 49ers, but there’s plenty of room to speculate that it may mean something more considering Lance’s current status with the team.

The 49ers traded three first-round picks to move up nine spots in the 2021 NFL Draft and select Lance out of North Dakota State. Lance had only one year as a starter in college and played at North Dakota State against middling competition, but the 49ers clearly believed in his traits enough to take a huge swing.

So far, though, the NFL results have been somewhat concerning. He wasn’t able to get on the field much as a rookie, with Jimmy Garoppolo holding the starting job all season (and leading the 49ers to the NFC Championship game). Lance began the 2022 season as the starter, but after a mediocre performance against the Bears in a torrential downpour in Week 1, he suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Week 2 against the Seahawks.

Since then, another 49ers quarterback appears to have taken his job. Rookie Brock Purdy – who was selected with the last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft – has been superb since taking over for Garoppolo, going 6-0 as a starter (including the 49ers’ 41-23 wild-card victory over the Seahawks on Saturday). In his first season, Purdy completed 67.1 percent of his passes for 1,374 yards, 13 touchdowns and four interceptions.

Regardless of how Purdy and the 49ers fare the rest of the playoffs, the team would be hard-pressed to replace him. So where does that leave Lance? The team has invested heavily in the quarterback, but if they don’t plan on starting him, they may look to trade him and recoup some of the investment they lost.

The Titans would be a natural fit. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill has no guaranteed money left on his contract, and the team may look to move on from him in the offseason as they navigate a precarious salary-cap situation. Even if they bring Tannehill back, the veteran is entering his age-35 season and wouldn’t be the long-term answer.

Tennessee drafted Malik Willis out of Liberty in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft, but with Tannehill injured, Willis struggled in Week 16. The team went with Josh Dobbs at quarterback to end the regular season, including a do-or-die Week 18 loss against the Jaguars.

Carthon obviously has familiarity with Lance from San Francisco, and if Tennessee looks to trade for him, they would get a huge discount from draft day, as he is coming off a serious injury and hasn’t produced (or had a chance to) yet in the NFL. Lance is a risky prospect at this point, but his arm strength, athleticism and leadership may make him appealing as a buy-low.

Either way, it’s guaranteed to be another offseason of quarterback speculation in San Francisco.