Unless the 49ers have told Trey Lance that he’s not going anywhere and he’ll have a chance to be the starting quarterback in 2023, the Minnesota native’s future is about as clouded as any player in the NFL.
Will they trade the soon-to-be 23-year-old? Will they entrust a Super Bowl-caliber roster in the young QB? What happens if Lance starts the season and Brock Purdy is cleared to play?
Speaking Monday, San Francisco general manager John Lynch suggested Lance will be with the 49ers when the 2023 season begins. Keep in mind that reports previously said the 49ers have been receiving calls from teams interested in trading for the Marshall native.
“Absolutely, I expect for Trey to be here,” Lynch said. “We’re excited about Trey’s ability to compete and what he can do for our franchise – just as we were when we drafted Trey.”
Remember when former Vikings GM Rick Spielman said he had no plans to trade Percy Harvin only to trade him days later? And remember when Spielman said he had no plans to trade Stefon Diggs, only to trade him? Never trust what comes out of the mouth of an NFL general manager.
On that note, Lynch said the 49ers haven’t been involved in serious conversations about a Lance trade, though he stopped short of saying there have been zero discussions at all.
“I think there’s a lot of smoke, really,” Lynch said. “It hasn’t been extremely active, and it’s not like we’ve put it out there that, ‘Hey, we’re taking offers for Trey, call 1-800 to,’ that’s not been the process.”
“It hasn’t been that substantive and we’re focused, as is Trey, on his ability to compete and play an integral role on this team,” Lynch added.
Meanwhile, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reported Monday that “the signal has been sent to call the 49ers if you’re interested in Trey Lance,” adding that if the Vikings, Texans and Titans don’t draft quarterbacks in rounds 1-3 of the draft and don’t pursue Lance, it’s a bad omen for his future.
“What happens to Lance?” Breer wrote. “Of course, that the Niners would listen to trade offers with their starter Brock Purdy incapable of throwing right now isn’t a great sign for his future. We’ll see if the Texans, Titans and Vikings provide better offers later this week.”
That last sentence would suggest that Minnesota has made an offer for Lance, so this is certainly a situation to keep monitoring.
Lance started the season opener for the ‘Niners in a rain storm at Chicago last season and then suffered a serious ankle injury on the second offensive possession of San Fran’s Week 2 game, which ended his season.
Related: Is Trey Lance still the hyped QB Kyle Shanahan fell in love with?
