San Francisco 49ers Trade Trey Lance To The Dallas Cowboys

The San Francisco 49ers traded Quarterback Trey Lance to the Dallas Cowboys for a 4th round draft pick. This comes just two and a half years after the 49ers drafted Lance to be their franchise quarterback. This is a dramatic development for a player that was supposed to be the face of the San Francisco 49ers.

Lance had recently been informed that Sam Darnold had beaten him out for the backup role to Quarterback Brock Purdy. 49ers General Manager John Lynch had recently said that he thought the most likely result was Lance would stay in San Francisco.

Lance is scheduled to make $940,000 in 2023 and has a $5.3 million salary in 2024, all of which is guaranteed. Upon trading him, the Niners will incur dead money hits of $8,361,434 this year and $5,540,956 in 2024. Trade talks surrounded Lance all offseason after he suffered a broken right ankle in Week 2 of last season.

Purdy staked his claim to the starting job with a finishing flourish down the stretch. When the Niners signed Darnold in March, coach Kyle Shanahan indicated Lance and Darnold would compete for the No. 2 job behind Purdy. General Manager Lynch had acknowledged that Lance had received trade interest. But the price dropped when Lance was demoted to the number 3 spot.

Dak Prescott will continue to be the starting Quarterback on the Dallas Cowboys. The 49ers originally drafted Lance 3rd overall in the 2021 draft. He was planned to play a limited role behind then-starter Jimmy Garoppolo, but injuries prevented much playing time.

Lance only started four games and appeared in eight in his two seasons with the team. Lance’s eight games are the fewest played by a top-5 pick for the franchise he debuted with in the Common Draft Era (since 1967).