Dallas Cowboys fans have waited in earnest for the Trey Lance trade to pay off. It initially received glowing reviews, but it has aged like a glass of skim milk. A fourth-round pick seemed like a fair price for Lance, but it's become clear that the Cowboys overpaid.
Other quarterbacks from the 2021 draft were traded after Lance, including No. 2 overall pick Zach Wilson and No. 15 overall pick Mac Jones. Though Wilson and Jones have been disappointments, both of them have showed more than Lance.
The Jets got a mere sixth-round pick in return for Wilson and also sent a seventh-rounder to the Broncos, while the Patriots settled for a sixth-rounder for Jones. While Lance has more upside than Wilson and Jones, the Cowboys absolutely jumped the gun by offering a fourth.
After effectively red-shirting in 2023, Lance looked a different player in spring practices. Mike McCarthy praised Lance's command of the offense and the QB's new throwing motion courtesy of McCarthy has vastly improved his timing on routes.
There's growing buzz that Lance will beat out Cooper Rush in training camp for the right to backup Dak Prescott. That would be the ideal scenario, but multiple Cowboys team reporters aren't buying the hype.
Cowboys reporters pump breaks on Trey Lance hype amid resurgent offseason
A quartet of Cowboys reporters, including Mickey Spagnola, Nick Eatman, Patrik Walker and Kurt Daniels, were asked if Lance can supplant Rush as the backup. While Walker is keeping an open mind going into camp, Eatman and Daniels aren't as bullish on the former No. 3 overall pick.
"I think I’d be surprised if Lance was actually better than Rush when we’re done with camp and preseason," writes Eatman. That doesn’t mean the Cowboys wouldn’t make him the backup because it seems as if they’d want it to play out that way. But Rush has been better in the brief things we’ve seen in the offseason."
"The Cowboys know what they've got in Rush, who is considered one of the better backups in the NFL," Daniels writes. "Although he's not going to give you anything flashy, he knows the offense and consistently has gotten the job done... Unless Lance really jumps off the page this coming August, I would think they stick with what they know."
Those are very fair assessments from Eatman and Daniels. Lance's draft status and upside has led folks to forget just how steady Rush is.
Yes, Rush's ceiling is limited, but he has a full understanding of McCarthy's offense and more experience than Lance. The 30-year-old started 50 games in college at Central Michigan and has appeared in 26 games as a pro. He's also 5-1 in six starts for the Cowboys filling in for an injured Prescott, proving he can keep the team afloat without its star quarterback.
Since 2020, Lance has attempted just 132 passes between college and the NFL. That's a four-year sample size. Lance hasn't been poor by any stretch in his limited playing time as a pro, but it would be a roll of the dice by the Cowboys to pick Lance's upside over a proven commodity in Rush.
Who knows? Maybe Lance shines in camp and preseason, wins the job outright and the Cowboys trade Rush to a backup-needy team. It's certainly a possibility, but would anyone be shocked if Rush keeps his place as QB2 and Lance becomes expendable?
Nobody's saying to abandon hope in Lance, but perhaps fans should temper expectations until they see Lance play in a more competitive setting than OTAs and minicamp.
