The San Francisco 49ers floated quarterback Trey Lance in NFL trade rumors this offseason, gauging the market for the former No. 3 overall pick. Three years after Lynch traded three first-round picks to draft Lance, a trade market for him isn’t materializing.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network first reported on April 19 that San Francisco received inquiries from several teams asking about Lance. Rapoport’s report stated that the 49ers were fielding calls, as opposed to making them, simply engaging in conversation with other teams.
- Trey Lance stats (NFL): 84.5 QB rating, 54.9% completion rate, 235 rush yards, 4.4 ypc
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Many around the NFL immediately saw the report as a sign that Lance has fallen out of favor in San Francisco and the organization is now willing to move him. The 49ers never denied Rapoport’s reporting, adding further credence to the belief that Lance was actively being shopped.
Speaking to reporters this week, 49ers’ general manager John Lynch said the club has not received significant interest from other clubs in Lance, with very few offers even made.
“”I think there’s a lot of smoke, really. There hasn’t been many offers.”
San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch on interest from teams in Trey Lance
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The lack of overwhelming interest in Lance and the offers San Francisco likely interprets as below-market value can be tied to perception. Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan committed years of resources to Lance, investing three first-round picks and additional assets into him.
Three years later, Lance has only played in eight games and holds a 5-3 TD-INT ratio with an 84.5 passer rating across 102 attempts. If the 49ers are already willing to listen to offers for Lance, while fully committing to the 262nd overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft (Brock Purdy), it’s a telling sign of how one of the most well-respected NFL organizations now views Lance after two years of trying to develop him.
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The 49ers were never going to receive a first-round pick back in a trade for Lance and Lynch’s comments to reporters suggest the small number of teams that made offers proposed far less than San Francisco wanted.
For now, Lance will stick around with the 49ers’ organization. If he remains on the roster past the 2023 NFL Draft, he’ll likely battle Sam Darnold for reps early in training camp until Brock Purdy is cleared to return from elbow surgery.