The Dallas Cowboys have made an interesting move as the 2023 NFL season gets closer to kicking off. On Friday night, the San Francisco 49ers agreed to trade quarterback Trey Lance to the Cowboys in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick in 2024, according to ESPN. Lance will likely be the backup quarterback for Dak Prescott who is signed through the 2024 season.ย
Lance, who the 49ers picked No. 3 overall in the 2021 draft, was informed that Sam Darnold beat him out for the No. 2 quarterback job behind starter Brock Purdy, a quarterback the 49ers drafted No. 262 overall (the last pick) in last year’s draft. Because of that, Lance reportedly requested a trade.
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“It was time to move on for him and for us,” 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said. “We’d love to just keep him until eventually, it works out, but that clock ran out here, and that’s why we had to make a real tough decision, one we didn’t enjoy doing, but we try to do what we think is best, and this is what we think is best.”ย
The 49ers wanted Lance to stay as the team’s No. 3 quarterback, but Shanahan said that he believed Lance needed as many reps as possible to continue to develop. There have been trade talks surrounding Lance since last season when he suffered a broken ankle during Week 2, but it began to pick up steam on Friday when it was learned he wasn’t going to be the starter or backup in San Francisco. The Cowboys separated themselvesย from other teams when they offered a fourth-round pick.ย
“It’s not what it looked like when we first started having a conversation. It wasn’t anywhere close,” 49ers general manager John Lynch said. “So it did advance in a hurry today. I’m not doing cartwheels over it, because my preference would’ve been that it worked out, and it didn’t. And there’s circumstances for that, and we can explain them away, but the reality is the reality. He had a couple opportunities, and I think injuries played a part, and where we’re at as a team, we felt like this was the best situation for us, also the best situation for him.” ย
In two seasons, Lance has played in two games and has completed 54.9 percent of his passes while throwing for 797 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions. He is signed through the 2024 season, but the Cowboys could pick up his fifth-year option for 2025. Along with Lance and Prescott, the Cowboys have quarterbacks Cooper Rush and Will Grier on the roster.
