It's official: Trey Lance is no longer a San Francisco 49er. After just two and a half years with the team, the quarterback has been traded to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a fourth-round draft choice. This comes after a tumultuous 48 hours for Lance, who was informed that Sam Darnold had beaten him out for the No. 2 quarterback job behind starter Brock Purdy. Despite Niners general manager John Lynch saying he believed the "most likely" result would be Lance staying in San Francisco, the team ultimately found a trade that worked for them and Lance.
The trade talks surrounding Lance all offseason stemmed from a broken right ankle he suffered in Week 2 of last season and Purdy's strong performance down the stretch. When the Niners signed Darnold in March, it was clear Lance and Darnold would compete for the No. 2 job. However, Lynch also acknowledged that he received trade interest in Lance before the draft in April.
The Niners used the No. 3 overall pick on Lance in the 2021 NFL draft after trading three first-round picks and a third-round pick to the Miami Dolphins to acquire the selection. The original plan was for Lance to play in limited packages behind then-starter Jimmy Garoppolo as a rookie, but injuries derailed any long-term plans. Lance started four games and appeared in eight contests in his two seasons with the team, completing 56-of-102 for 797 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions.
Now, Dallas will get to decide on Lance's fifth-year option for 2025. As for the Niners, they will incur dead money hits of $8,361,434 this year and $5,540,956 in 2024. While it's sad to see Lance go, it will be interesting to see what he can do with the Cowboys and how the Niners move forward without him.