Report: Dallas Cowboys trade for 49ers quarterback Trey Lance

The Trey Lance era in San Francisco has come to an end. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Dallas Cowboys have acquired the 2021 No. 3 overall pick from the 49ers for a future fourth-round pick.

Trade: 49ers are sending their former No. 3 overall pick Trey Lance to the Dallas Cowboys for a mid-round, per sources. Lance now gets a fresh start in Dallas. pic.twitter.com/UxKNpljktv

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 25, 2023

The trade comes just two days after head coach Kyle Shanahan named Sam Darnold the backup to Brock Purdy, making Lance the third option on the quarterback depth chart. It became abundantly clear then that Lance was on borrowed time in San Francisco, with the franchise exploring all options for the 23-year-old.

“If we can find a landing spot for Trey that is a really good one for him and works for our organization, that’s not something that we’d turn a blind eye to,” general manager John Lynch said Thursday.

Now Dallas bound, Lance will get a fresh start after a tumultuous tenure in San Francisco, in which he suited up in just eight games (four starts), throwing for 797 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions on 54.9% passing. Lance’s career suffered a major setback in 2022, as in the second game of the season of his first as QB1, he suffered a season-ending right ankle injury.

With Purdy, “Mr. Irrelevant” of the 2022 NFL Draft, stepping in after injuries to both Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo and guiding the 49ers to the NFC Championship Game, Lance’s path to being the starter in 2023 seemed nonexistent. That was only confirmed by his showing in the first two preseason games, in which he struggled to separate himself from Darnold in the backup quarterback competition.

Trey Lance gets fresh start in Dallas, 49ers move on after disastrous trade

In the preseason opener against the Las Vegas Raiders, Lance completed 10-of-15 passes for 112 yards and a touchdown. In the follow-up against the Denver Broncos, he completed 12-of-18 passes for 173 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

“It was a very tough fight, but in the long run, Sam ended up winning it,” Shanahan said. “Once I knew that was the case, wanted to make sure I told Trey as fast as I could.”

The selection of Lance — if it wasn’t already — becomes the most perplexing move of the Lynch-Shanahan era. In order to be in position to select Lance, the 49ers gave up three first-round picks and a third-round pick to the Miami Dolphins. Miami turned that into 1,000-yard wideout Jaylen Waddle, All-Pro receiver Tyreek Hill and Pro Bowl pass rusher Bradley Chubb.

Dallas owes Lance $6.25 million fully guaranteed over the next two seasons. Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Cowboys still have the ability to exercise his fifth-year option.