If the Minnesota Vikings are interested in Trey Lance, the price may not be as high as you think.
According to Michael Silver of the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco might not fetch more than a third-round pick in return for Lance based on what he’s hearing from rival executives across the league.
Even if the Niners are receptive to potential trade offers for Lance after the season, they won’t come close to recouping that haul. Based on my conversations with several teams’ general managers (and other high- ranking front-office executives), Lance would be unlikely to net much more than a third- round selection, though it’s possible there’s a team out there motivated to give more.
Trading Lance would be an admission of failure for the 49ers, who not only selected the former North Dakota State quarterback third overall in the NFL Draft, but traded up to draft him, sending three first-round picks and a 2022 third-round pick to the Miami Dolphins.
Despite the heavy investment, the 49ers never seemed to be sold on Lance. He spent the entire 2021 season behind Jimmy Garoppolo outside of a pair of spot starts and the 49ers brought Garoppolo back after they were unable to trade him this past offseason.
Lance began this season as the starter but lost his Week 1 start to the Chicago Bears and broke his ankle during a Week 2 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. Garoppolo started in his place but was replaced by Brock Purdy, who has won all seven starts and will become the fourth rookie in NFL history and the first since Mark Sanchez in 2009 to start a conference championship game when the Niners battle the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
Silver reported over the weekend that the 49ers now see Purdy as the quarterback of the future, leaving Lance’s future in doubt. At 6-foot-4 and 224 pounds, Lance has the tools and mobility of a modern quarterback but that has yet to play out on the field.
Is that upside plus a low cost enough for the Vikings – who are expecting Kirk Cousins to be the starter for next season – to bring the Marshall native home? That remains to be seen. For now, it appears Lance is on the block and readily available for a willing team.
