Trey Lance has had two disappointing years with the San Francisco 49ers. Now he wants to attack anew with the Dallas Cowboys. But in Texas, too, the quarterback has to get in line for the time being.

Trey Lance was the third pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. In exchange, the San Francisco 49ers sent three first-round picks to the Miami Dolphins. A lot of dough. And a clear sign that the Californians were fully convinced of the North Dakota State Bison quarterback at the time.

Past tense, mind you. Two years later, despite the departure of veteran Jimmy Garoppolo, the now 23-year-old would have been only number three behind Brock Purdy and Sam Darnold. Clearly too little for Lance, who sought the sidelines.

He was at least worth a fourth-round pick in the 2024 draft to the Dallas Cowboys. Which underscores his dramatic decline on the West Coast all too clearly. Especially since the 49ers seem more than happy with the deal. “Getting a fourth-round pick was a little more than we expected,” admitted head coach Kyle Shanahan.

Who took the initiative for the trade?

According to 49ers general manager John Lynch, there was interest in Lance from other clubs in the spring, but the franchise was critical of a trade at the time. The topic then picked up steam, according to Shanahan, after he told the one-time hopeful in a meeting on Wednesday morning (23 August) that he would only be number three on the depth chart.

After a deliberation period of 90 minutes, Lance had then asked him to be traded in order to be able to give his career new impetus. In the days that followed, it became clear that there were several interested parties in the 23-year-old.

Shanahan said that while he would have liked to keep Lance as a number three, he also felt that the quarterback needed game practice. “It was time for him and for us to make a change,” the coach is quoted as saying, speaking of “a really tough decision. “

What do the 49ers have to say about the trade?

Lynch stressed on the sidelines of the preseason opener against the Los Angeles Chargers (12-23) that he was happy for Lance: “Dallas reached out to him and really wanted him. And I think this is a great opportunity for him.” According to Shanahan, there had been “some good options on the table for him”, with “quite a number of teams involved”.

Lynch admitted he was looking at the deal with one eye laughing and one eye crying. “It moved along briskly today,” the GM explained on Friday, “I’m not doing somersaults, though, because I would have preferred it to work out here, but it didn’t.” Both pointed to circumstances such as Lance’s injuries.

“I think Trey needs the opportunity to play more,” Shanahan relayed, echoing Purdy: “The opportunities were here, but when he had the two opportunities, he got injured. He missed the right window, so someone else had the opportunity, stayed healthy for seven games and performed in a way that we’re happy with. That’s what Trey needs, but it didn’t work out here.”

Lynch sent extra warm words afterward: “We wish Trey nothing but the best in Dallas. We will always care about this young man and admire his work ethic and personality. “

What are Lance’s chances of playing for the Dallas Cowboys?

The starter’s job is firmly in the hands of Dak Prescott in Dallas. The former fourth-round pick knows club owner Jerry Jones is behind him despite his league-leading 15 interceptions last season.

Speaking to reporter Peter King a few days ago, the powerful boss stressed Prescott was the right quarterback to lead the Cowboys back to the Super Bowl: “We’re relying on him and I have a very good feeling about it.”

However, unlike with the 49ers, the job of first backup beckons for Lance. He will have to compete for it with Cooper Rush, who impressed as Prescott’s replacement in the early weeks last season when the starter was out with a thumb injury. Rush signed a two-year, five-million-dollar contract in March.

Will Grier, who is also still under contract, has been informed by the franchise that he will have to leave the team after the last preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders, according to David Moore of the Dallas Morning News. The 28-year-old will get a chance to showcase himself to other clubs in the game, but will then have to make way for Lance, according to reports.

Club officials spoke to QB Will Grier before the deal for Trey Lance was made public, two people with knowledge of how the trade went down said.

He’s been told he won’t be on this team going forward but is slated to play from start to finish against the Raiders in his farewell.

– David Moore (@DavidMooreDMN) August 26, 2023

The former 49ers hopeful should be more of a backup for the “America’s Team”, should the injury-prone Prescott have to be replaced in the future. At the same time, there is probably also the hope that the number 4 will be driven to peak performance by such a renowned backup. To make Jones’ Super Bowl dream come true.

What other teams were interested in Lance?

No other Lance prospects are known as of yet. At the Scouting Combine, the Minnesota Vikings were reportedly in talks with the 49ers about a trade, according to “NBC” information. In Minneapolis, Kirk Cousins is entering his final year of his contract.

Interestingly, Dianna Russini of “The Athletic” tweeted on the day of Shanahan and Lance’s conversation that the 49ers had been looking for a trade partner for much of the offseason but had not received a significant offer in all that time. After the trade, she added in another tweet that the Niners had received several trade enquiries recently, but only wanted to trade the quarterback to the AFC.

Cam Inman of The Mercury News reported that the Buffalo Bills had also made an offer. But the Cowboys’ offer was better, so Lance is staying in the NFC after all.

49ers traded Lance to Cowboys after they made better offer than Bills, according to a team source.

Lance was at Levi’s Stadium and took this news better than Wednesday’s, when he learned 2 job was lost to Sam Darnold.

Lance met with Shanahan, John Lynch, Jed York after deal https://t.co/SwsJ6S3pOL

– Cam Inman (@CamInman) August 26, 2023

What contract will Lance bring to Dallas?

Lance has two years left on his original $34.1 million rookie contract. He is guaranteed around 6.25 million US dollars for that time. According to “spotrac”, there is only 940,000 US dollars in base salary in 2023, for 2024 it is then 1.055 million US dollars in base salary and a fixed roster bonus of a good 4.2 million US dollars.

After the upcoming season, the Cowboys will have to decide whether to pull the Fifth-Year-Option.

What dead money does Lance leave behind?

According to “spotrac”, the 49ers’ dead cap hit for the 2023 season is just over $8.3 million. For the 2024 season, the Californians will lose just over US$5.5 million according to this data.

What numbers did Lance put up for the 49ers?

In his two years in San Francisco, Lance made eight appearances, starting four times. His record: 56 completions on 102 passes (54.9% passing rate) for 797 passing yards including five touchdowns and three interceptions, plus 235 rushing yards on 54 runs for a touchdown, plus one fumble.

He began his rookie season as the backup to Garoppolo, whom he replaced for the first time after Garoppolo injured his calf during the 21-28 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 4 and then the following 10-17 loss at the Arizona Cardinals. His second start came in Week 17’s 23-7 over the Houston Texans after “Jimmy G” injured his thumb. Lance himself suffered a finger fracture in the preseason and also sprained his left knee against the Cardinals.

Lance started last year as a starter, but was not really convincing in the 10:19 at the Chicago Bears in the opener: 164 passing yards with one interception and 54 rushing yards with one fumble. In the 27-7 loss to the Seattle Seahawks a week later, he broke his ankle early on, sealing his season’s end.