Trey Lance’s stint with the San Francisco 49ers came to an end on Friday night when he was traded to the Dallas Cowboys for a 2024 fourth-round pick, but according to 49ers general manager John Lynch, his failure to take the starting job in San Francisco wasn’t due to a lack of effort.
“I could tell everybody that it wasn’t for a lack of effort on Trey’s part or on our part that it didn’t work out,” Lynch said during the 49ers final preseason game on Friday night. “Circumstances took hold and this team is ready to win and we like our quarterback room.”
The 49ers took a massive swing on Lance in the 2021 NFL Draft, giving up three first-round picks and a third-round pick to the Miami Dolphins to select Lance with the third overall pick.
Lance spent his rookie season sitting behind Jimmy Garoppolo but was named the starting quarterback heading into last year. After struggling in his first start in monsoon-like conditions during a loss to the Chicago Bears, Lance broke his leg in a Week 2 victory over the Seahawks, which gave the job back to Garoppolo and eventually seventh-round pick Brock Purdy.
The door was open for Lance to regain his job after Purdy suffered a torn UCL in last year’s NFC Championship Game but he was unable to because of his injury and was named the team’s third-string quarterback this summer behind draft bust Sam Darnold, which set the stage for a trade and allowed the 49ers to keep Brandon Allen on the roster.
“It’s a really hard day,” Lynch said of the trade. “[He’s] a wonderful young man. We took a shot and it didn’t work out. We own that and we take accountability for it.”
Although the 49ers gave up on Lance, he’s still just 23 years old and has thrown 420 passes since graduating from high school in 2018. That makes Lynch believe there’s still a ceiling for the Marshall native and North Dakota State standout after the deal to the Cowboys.
“I think…his story is very much unwritten,” Lynch said. “I’m excited for him, Dallas stepped up and really wanted him and they came after him. I think it’s going to be a great landing spot for him…so we wish Trey all the best in Dallas. We will always care about that young man, his work ethic and the person that he is.”
