Reports earlier this week that the San Francisco 49ers were taking calls about a potential Trey Lance trade surprised the masses.
Less than two years after exhausting a ton of capital in moving up to the No. 3 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft to acquire the small-school product, most figured that San Francisco would give Lance a chance to compete for the starting job.
After all, the 49ers are rostering an unproven Brock Purdy and veteran journeyman Sam Darnold at quarterback following the departure of longtime starter Jimmy Garoppolo.
Apparently, San Francisco taking trade calls on Lance during the NFL Scouting Combine and afterwards wasn’t too surprising to those around the football world.
“John Lynch taking calls on him (Lance) was probably the worst kept secret since Indy. I know they’ve listened. Lance is still young and on a rookie deal. He’s pretty talented. [Sam] Darnold has tons of incentives in his deal and Purdy has the elbow problem. I think it would take a pretty strong offer to get Lance,” NFL insider Jordan Schultz on Trey Lance trade talks.
Almost immediately after NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported that the 49ers were indeed taking calls on Lance, two teams came up as possibilities. That includes the Minnesota Vikings and Tennessee Titans, both of whom are in the market for a quarterback of the future.
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Will the San Francisco 49ers pull off a Trey Lance trade this offseason?
There’s a lot that goes into this. Lance played less than five quarters of football last season before suffering an ankle injury in Week 2. He also threw just 71 passes as a rookie. Heck, he’s thrown all of 132 passes since the end of the 2019 season with North Dakota State.
This comes on the heels of reports in late January that the 49ers’ brass is not sold on the raw Lance as their starting quarterback of the future.
“Trey Lance, this might be what it took to get him into a position where they are force-fed back into the idea. I’m just telling you man, I don’t know what’s going on with Trey Lance in that organization. I can just tell you that the confidence level between Brock Purdy and Trey Lance prior to this game, it was night and day and that is not good for Trey Lance.”
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The presence of Purdy is a major backstory here. He came off the bench to replace an injured Jimmy Garoppolo back in December. A seventh-round pick last April, Purdy proceeded to lead San Francisco to seven consecutive wins before being injured himself early in an NFC Championship Game loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
The former Iowa State star just underwent elbow surgery. It’s not yet known whether he will be ready for the start of the 2023 season. That’s among the reasons San Francisco signed former New York Jets No. 3 pick Sam Darnold.
Trey Lance trade value
Prior to widespread rumors suggesting a Lance trade, one report suggested that he could be had for a second-round pick. We’re not 100% sure whether that’s the case given what the unnamed general manager told Schultz.
What we do know is that Minnesota’s inclusion in rumors relating to Lance is interesting. Other reports suggested that the 49ers and Vikings had trade talks during the NFL Scouting Combine surrounding current Minnesota starter Kirk Cousins, who played under Kyle Shanahan earlier in his career in Washington. Of course, that would completely change the dynamics for the defending NFC West champions.
Either way, this certainly is something to watch with the 2023 NFL Draft now less than a week away. San Francisco does not have a selection in either of the first two rounds. If it is going to pull off a Trey Lance trade, now would be the time.