The San Francisco 49ers made a mistake in trading Trey Lance to the Dallas Cowboys. (Photo by … [+] Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Getty ImagesAs crazy as it sounds, the Dallas Cowboys pulled off a steal in acquiring Trey Lance from the San Francisco 49ers in a surprising trade.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported late Friday night that the Cowboys acquired the former No. 3 overall pick from the 49ers in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick. The move comes just hours after it was announced that Lance had lost out on the backup quarterback job to Sam Darnold.
Schefter also reported that Lance — following his demotion — had requested a trade on Wednesday.
Lance reportedly received interest from several teams, including playoff contenders such as the Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens and Detroit Lions, according to The Athletic’s Diana Russini.
“The Buffalo Bills and the Baltimore Ravens are two teams that had conversations with San Francisco about a possible trade for Trey Lance,” wrote Russini. “In the NFC, the Detroit Lions also showed interest, per sources. Most of the early discussions about a trade involved a 6th rounder that could get to a 5th. In the end, the Dallas Cowboys offered the best deal.”
In other words, the Cowboys offered the best deal from a draft compensation standpoint and the 49ers accepted.
The move is surprising for a couple of reasons. For one, the 49ers had previously indicated that they wanted to retain Lance despite his demotion. The thought process made sense considering San Francisco has frequently dealt with injuries at the quarterback position in recent years, including going through four quarterbacks on their way to the NFC Championship Game last season.
Via Nick Wagoner of ESPN:
„That’s the most likely option,“ Lynch said on Thursday in regards to Lance remaining with the team. „We’re very happy with Trey. The most likely option is that he’s here. If we can find a landing spot for Trey that is a really good one for him and works for our organization, that’s not something that we’d turn a blind eye to. But that’s not where our focus is right now. Our focus is on Trey getting back here and us being the best football team.
Secondly, while the idea of trading Lance isn’t a complete surprise — a fresh start was needed for both sides — the notion of trading him to one of your two biggest rivals from within the conference is a surprise.
Yes, it’s unlikely Lance comes back to bite San Francisco in a game for trading him to the hated Cowboys. But the fact that the Niners were willing to trade Lance to arguably their biggest conference rivals after playing them in the playoffs the past two seasons is a decision they may come to regret.
Not only are the Niners now banking on Brock Purdy to remain upright following a serious UCL injury that sidelined him over the last several months, they’ll also bank their hopes on Sam Darnold — who has a cumulative record of 21-34 since entering the NFL as a No. 3 overall pick himself — if Purdy suffers an injury. After Darnold, they’ll go with Brandon Allen, who is 2-7 over his career as a journeyman backup quarterback.
Outside of the Niners’ struggles in recent seasons — it’s arguably cost them Super Bowl appearances in two of the past four years — is the fact that the Cowboys now have an insurance policy in place for Dak Prescott.
Much has been made about Prescott’s struggles last season, leading the league in interceptions (15) despite missing five games. Furthermore, Prescott will be a free agent after the 2024 season and while the Cowboys have verbally indicated they want to a contract extension done, there hasn’t been much progress made on that front.
Considering Prescott is 30 years old, coming off of the least efficient season of his career and has yet to lead the team past the divisional round of the playoffs, one would have to assume this year could be a make-or-break year when it comes to his future with the Cowboys.
The NFC is weaker than it’s ever been this season and if there ever was an opportunity for the Cowboys to break their glass ceiling and advance to the Super Bowl, this would be the year. If Dallas falters and comes up short of a deep postseason run, you’re looking at the Cowboys moving on from head coach Mike McCarthy and at least consider the idea of moving on from Prescott.
At the very least, the Cowboys can utilize Lance in run-specialty packages while highlighting his skill set in the end zone in games.
Lance is a very much a raw and unpolished product. After entering the 2022 season as the starting quarterback, Lance suffered a season-ending ankle injury. As much criticism as he’s received for his lack of development, one has to remember he’s appeared in only eight games with four starts as a former Division 1 FCS product who missed his entire last season in college (2020) due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Niners no longer presented an opportunity for Lance to develop and grow following the emergence of Purdy as the team’s franchise quarterback last season. It’s the main reason why they’re moving on from him.
But the idea of trading a 23-year-old quarterback with a tremendous amount of raw talent and upside to your biggest rival is a major mistake. Acquiring a fourth-round draft pick over a fifth or sixth-round draft pick won’t matter in the grand scheme of things.
However, Lance developing into a contributor for the Cowboys — if not possibly a franchise quarterback — is something that could come back to haunt the Niners.