The battle for the backup quarterback job was one of the more intriguing San Francisco 49ers offseason storylines. It was a competition between two former No. 3 overall picks—Trey Lance and Sam Darnold.

That competition ended this week. Darnold will serve as Brock Purdy's backup. The news disappointed Lance, who was the 49ers' starting quarterback just a year ago.

Not satisfied with being third on the depth chart, Lance wanted a shot at a backup job elsewhere. On Friday, ahead of the team's preseason finale against the Los Angeles Chargers, the 49ers obliged, trading the third-year quarterback to the Dallas Cowboys.

Why not let the competition continue a little longer? Why end it before the final preseason game?


"Because I knew it," head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters during his post-game press conference. "I thought it would take longer. I wanted to go through this game, but I knew it, and I think a lot of guys knew it. I think he had an idea.

"It was more about my relationship with Trey. I'm in meetings with him every day and stuff. I'm on the field with him every day. And I could get a sense that he was starting to feel that we felt that way, and it was the truth, and I didn't want to BS him."

Once Shanahan knew and could tell that Lance knew a decision had been reached, he wanted to sit down privately with his young quarterback to inform him of the decision. That happened on Wednesday morning.

"I didn't expect it to get out right away, but it did," Shanahan admitted. "But that was something I thought I owed to Trey, and I told Trey right before a team meeting that we had. I didn't get a chance to even tell Sam or anyone else on the team. That was just a personal thing between Trey and I, and it obviously got out, but that's why I thought it was important to tell him."

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