Trey Lance’s tenure with the San Francisco 49ers has come to an end, just two and a half years after they selected him as their starting quarterback.
Trey Lance General manager John Lynch stated on Friday night that the Niners and Dallas Cowboys had reached an agreement to trade Trey Lance in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick.
The agreement brings to an end a hectic 48 hours in which Trey Lance learned that Sam Darnold had edged him out for the backup quarterback position to starter Brock Purdy, skipped practice on Wednesday, and then showed up to the team facility on Thursday morning. Instead of traveling to Dallas to join his new team, Lance will miss San Francisco’s exhibition game against the Los Angeles Chargers on Friday night.
During the game on Friday night, Lynch acknowledged on KPIX that trading Trey Lance was a difficult choice, but that the team ultimately decided it was the best course of action.
It was a “really hard day,” Lynch added. “What a fantastic young man. We tried something, but it didn’t work out. Ours is that. We accept responsibility for that. But in my opinion, a lot of his tale is still to be told. I’m anticipating Trey.
Trey Lance’s “work ethic and the person that he is” while playing for the 49ers were praised by Lynch, who also expressed his best wishes for him in Dallas.
Dallas stepped up and pursued him because they truly wanted him, the man claimed. “I believe it will be a fantastic landing spot for him.”
The guaranteed salaries for Trey Lance in 2023 and 2024 are $940,000 and $5.3 million, respectively. The Niners will lose $5,540,956 in dead money in 2024 and $8,361,434 this year if they trade him.
Dallas will get to decide on Trey Lance’s fifth-year option for 2025 after this season.
After breaking his right ankle in Week 2 of the previous season, trade rumors persisted all offseason around Trey Lance. Purdy cemented his claim to the starting job with a strong finish down the line.
Coach Kyle Shanahan said Trey Lance and Darnold will fight for the No. 2 job behind Purdy when the Niners added Darnold in March. Although Lynch noted that it would take a significant trade offer to part with Lance, he did reveal that he had heard about it prior to the April draft.
After Trey Lance was moved to the No. 3 place on Wednesday, the price fell as other teams started contacting the Niners. And a deal with the Cowboys was finalized on Friday.
The signing of Trey Lance does not lessen the Cowboys’ faith in Dak Prescott, but at the very least it gives them some security going forward.
Prescott, who has a contract that runs through 2024, will contribute $59 million toward the salary cap in 2019. Jerry Jones, the team’s owner and general manager, has expressed a desire to extend Prescott’s contract, but little discussion has been had about a new arrangement.
After Troy Aikman’s retirement, the Cowboys went through a succession of quarterbacks before Tony Romo rose from undrafted rookie to Pro Bowler in 2006.
Prescott was chosen by the Cowboys in the fourth round of the 2016 draft, not with the intention of making him the team’s starting quarterback. However, after Romo injured his back in the preseason, Prescott took over as the starter.
Last month, Prescott turned 30. Over the previous three seasons, he has missed games. With 15 interceptions in 12 games, he shared the NFL lead. He missed five games after breaking his right thumb in the first game of the season.
After recovering from a fractured and dislocated right ankle three years ago, he claimed on Thursday that he is feeling as well as he has in a long time. He missed one game in 2021 due to a calf ailment.
“I’m fortunate. I am grateful. I’m in good shape,” Prescott remarked. I’m considerably different than I was in the previous few years, and I’ll try to continue being that way and taking care of myself, even if it’s one of those things you don’t want to dwell on too much.
Despite four postseason appearances, he has failed to advance the Cowboys past the divisional round of the playoffs. Prescott recognizes the urgency given that the Cowboys’ previous Super Bowl victory was in 1995.
At the end of the day, the pressure is something you put on yourself, according to Prescott. We hold ourselves to a high bar and have high standards for ourselves. I can assure you that nobody wants to end this dry spell more than the guys in the locker room. For us, it’s important to make certain that we are aware of our identity as a team, that we hold that identity dear, and that we play complementary football at all three levels. If we achieve that, just based on the foundation we laid during the offseason, during training camp, and right now, I believe it’s hopeful.
With Lance’s arrival, the Cowboys may now maintain three quarterbacks on their 53-man roster for the duration of the regular season.
Cooper Rush, a backup, signed with the Cowboys in March to a two-year, $5 million contract that includes a $1.25 million signing bonus. When Prescott has missed games due to injury in the past two years, he is 5-1 as a starter.
In Saturday’s preseason finale against the Las Vegas Raiders, Will Grier, who was vying to be the No. 3 quarterback, is anticipated to handle the majority of the action.
In order to obtain the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Niners had to trade three first-round picks and a third-round pick to the Miami Dolphins. According to several sources, the Cowboys rated Lance as a second-round pick in that draft.
When Lance was a rookie, San Francisco had intended for him to play behind Jimmy Garoppolo in limited packages. However, a broken right index finger sustained in the preseason derailed all long-term intentions for that season. With his ankle injury last year, Lance experienced yet another setback.
In total, during the course of his two seasons with the squad, Lance started four games and made eight appearances. During his career with the organization, he completed 56 of 102 passes for 797 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions.
According to ESPN Stats & Information analysis, Lance’s eight games are the fewest played by a top-5 choice for the team he made his debut with in the Common rookie Era (since 1967 and excludes the 2023 rookie class).