Trey Lance still can’t see the field — 49ers dodged a huge bullet

Given the saga leading up to his draft selection, it’s still interesting to see how the 49ers 1st round selection from 2021 is doing—not too hot.

Trey Lance’s biggest criticism since his selection in the 2021 NFL draft was not playing enough football. It’s 2024, and he still can’t get on the field.

Yes, this is a San Francisco 49ers website, but when you think of just how exhausting the entire 2021 draft was, you know we have to keep an eye on one of the biggest storylines in the entire league that year: No. 3 overall pick (that the 49ers traded future firsts for), Trey Lance. It’s also relevant to see if the 49ers cut their losses at the right time.

You’d hear it over and over again during the pinch of starts he had with the 49ers that he “had to play more football,” and you hear it still now that he’s with the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys traded a fourth-round pick to continue Lance’s development. At some point, he’d have to see the field if he had something, anything.

And he still can’t get on there. Probably when he should.

Cowboys starting quarterback Dak Prescott was a candidate for injured reserve. It seemed like the Cowboys wouldn’t use that option, except Saturday it was reported Prescott may need surgery. Regardless of how that turns out, it’s obvious he’s not playing Sunday. And it’s Cooper Rush who will be filling in, not Trey Lance.

This is expected. Cooper Rush was named the second string quarterback when the season began. The Cowboys are 3-5, third in the NFC East, and with a brutal divisional game on Sunday. But still, the Cowboys haven’t looked like a playoff team, let alone a team that can compete for a Super Bowl. Why not start Lance? Why not give him that development everyone says he needs?

And the obvious answer: they still think they can salvage this. And Trey Lance still isn’t ready after over three years. Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said as much:

“He takes all the look team reps. He’s great in a room. I’m high on Trey Lance. He’s played a different system in college. Went to a little bit of a different system, particularly just like, just take the footwork of what we’re teaching the pass game is different,” McCarthy said, via CBS Sports’ Garrett Podell.

So, no, Lance. He still can’t get playing time, the one thing he needs. Without Prescott, probably for the season, it would be a great opportunity to put Trey Lance in and see what he has. The Cowboys disagree.

When we last left Trey Lance, he was traded to the Cowboys for a fourth-round pick. This was due to the rise of Brock Purdy, as all of you know. It wasn’t anything about Trey Lance’s character or the locker room not accepting him. The 49ers simply had a better option at quarterback and no longer needed the development project (or time investment) Lance would require.

Check out this video from the Cowboys game. Everyone was coming by to give him a hug.

Could the Cowboys have salvaged him? Who knows. But when they traded a fourth round pick to take him off the 49ers’ hands, many thought it was the fresh start, some even said the 49ers didn’t give Lance much of a chance (despite the situations). In many ways, the 49ers dodged a bullet. Not only did they have Brock Purdy as their starting quarterback, they also may not have been stuck with drama similar to the Indianapolis Colts who benched young quarterback Anthony Richardson for Joe Flacco.

If Trey Lance stuck around if his current trajectory is any indication, the 49ers very well could be going through the same thing—that is if Brock Purdy didn’t show up. They probably wouldn’t have gotten anything in a trade, either.

Trey Lance was an understandable risk, but many thought with development, he’d be a great quarterback for the 49ers. Now, the less he plays, even in times like these, it just shows how lucky the 49ers were that Brock Purdy fell into their laps. Everyone wants to see him get a string of starts and play football, but on two teams, he hasn’t been able to elevate himself from QB3 when rosters are finalized at the start of the season.

It is not something any third-overall pick from three years ago should be.