The Dallas Cowboys shocked the NFL world on Friday night when they agreed to send a fourth-round pick to the San Francisco 49ers for former No. 3 overall pick Trey Lance. The writing was on the wall for Lance after Sam Darnold was tabbed as Brock Purdy's backup, but it was unknown who would pursue Lance, and what the 49ers would accept in return for the quarterback they traded two future first-round picks and a third-rounder for in 2021. The team that came calling was the team San Francisco ousted from the postseason just seven months ago.
Lance is still in the NFC, which is notable. The 49ers were focused on shipping Lance out of the conference to the AFC, according to The Athletic, but that did not happen. In fact, the Buffalo Bills made an offer for Lance, but failed to beat out the Cowboys, per the Mercury News.
Bills GM Brandon Beane confirmed Saturday the team did call the 49ers about Lance, via ESPN.
In Lance, the Cowboys have an intriguing prospect who could potentially develop into a starter one day. Dallas reportedly had a second-round grade on Lance prior to the start of the 2021 NFL Draft. It was known that this quarterback was raw. Lance entered the league having played in just one game over the past year at North Dakota State, and hasn't received much action since then. In his two NFL seasons, Lance has played in just eight games with four starts. 49ers general manager John Lynch said it himself. The 23-year-old's story is still unwritten.
"Really hard day," Lynch said. "Such a wonderful young man. We took a shot and it didn't work out. We own that, we take accountability for it.
"His story is still very much unwritten. I'm excited for Trey. 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. I can tell everybody it wasn't for lack of effort -- on Trey's part of our part -- that it didn't work. Circumstances took hold. He struggled through injuries. This team is ready to win, and we like our quarterback room. We like Brock Purdy a lot, we like Sam Darnold and we like Brandon Allen.
"We wish Trey all the best in Dallas. We'll always care about that young man and admire his work ethic and the person that he is."
