The San Francisco 49ers ended a disappointing era, trading quarterback Trey Lance to the Dallas Cowboys for a 2024 fourth-round pick, officially giving up on the player they traded three first-round picks to acquire in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Lance, who lost the backup quarterback battle to Sam Darnold earlier in the week, was dealt ahead of San Francisco's final preseason bout against the Los Angeles Chargers on Friday.
The Cowboys, on the other hand, had a preseason game of their own, where third-string quarterback Will Grier threw for 305 yards and two touchdowns on 29/35 passing, while rushing for 53 yards and two touchdowns as well.
However, with the trade going through, the Cowboys essentially let the world know that Lance would be their third-string quarterback, with Grier likely on his way out, as the 2021 No. 3 overall pick will back up Cooper Rush and Dak Prescott in 2023.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones spoke to the media following Dallas's final preseason game, sharing his hopes that Lance is more of a future asset than one he expects to see the field in 2023.
"Candidly,'' Jones said, "I don't want to plan on, count on, or wish for help from him this year."
However, Jones did clarify that the trade for Lance would provide the Cowboys with an asset that could help the team now and down the line.
"We view it as an opportunity that could pay dividends this year and will pay dividends (in the future)."
Lance has two more years left on his rookie deal, as the Cowboys will owe him $940,000 in 2023, while paying the $5.3 million cap hit left on his contract in 2024.
Jones cited the desire to have a developmental option behind starter Dak Prescott as a good reason for trading for Lance, which puts the former 49ers quarterback in an ideal scenario, as the Cowboys still have Cooper Rush as a backup option as well.
"He gives us an opportunity to do what we would always like to be doing," Jones said after the game. "It would be ideal with Dak to have a young, prospective, developing quarterback that could just be in the room."
Jones raved about his new quarterback, sharing the Cowboys' determination to get a deal done when the option of trading for Lance presented itself.
"The minute that we knew that they were serious about trading him, then we didn't want the phone to hang up," Jones said. "We did it the equivalent of yesterday. And so we felt good about him with the evaluation we had for him at the draft. We felt good about what we've seen, tape that he's had since he's been in the NFL. And it's one that we made the decision almost the minute we heard the name. Let's get him."
As for any potential implications about Prescott, Jones said that the decision didn't alter any thoughts about Prescott, rather pointing to the value of acquiring young, developmental talent.
"Didn't cross my mind, period, about an impact here regarding Dak," Jones said. "I know that Dak wants to do anything we can do to improve this team and we're going to do it. The facts are that the decision to bring in as high a quality of talent as we could, that's involving young talent ... that's something that we've been trying to do, just never the opportunity seems to be there. So often we've been trying to do what we did today with this trade almost every draft since we've been drafting."
With Lance now moving on to the Dallas Cowboys, the San Francisco 49ers are set at quarterback with Brock Purdy as their starter, with Sam Darnold and Brandon Allen currently serving as the top backup quarterback options.
