Mike McCarthy shares first impressions of new Cowboys quarterback Trey Lance

The Dallas Cowboys welcomed young quarterback Trey Lance into the facility at the Star on Tuesday and the former 49ers first-rounder apparently got right to work. Head coach Mike McCarthy shared his first impression of Lance at his press conference before practice on Thursday morning.

“Very hard-working,” McCarthy said. “We have a quarterback meeting room area. He’s pretty much kind of taken it over. The grease boards look like ‘Beautiful Mind.'”

“We just need to work on the extra things,” McCarthy added. “Particularly in the area of footwork.”

The Dallas Cowboys surprised the NFL world on Friday, trading for the 49ers quarterback shortly after the team named him the third-stringer for 2023. 

San Francisco decided to cut its losses despite massive investment in the QB and wound up receiving a fourth-round pick from Dallas.

Prior to the trade, Lance played eight games for San Francisco. He tallied 797 yards, five touchdowns, and three touchdowns.

The addition of Lance to the Cowboys roster opened the door for pundits and talking heads to put the nail in the coffin of Dak Prescott’s career, however delusional that notion may be.

Stephen A. Smith on First Take said Tuesday that this could be Prescott’s last stand with the Cowboys if he doesn’t take the team to the Super Bowl this season. Others have suggested the long-time face of the franchise won’t be starting by mid-season.

“This is it for Dak Prescott,” Smith said. “This could very well be his last year in Dallas.”

Lance: Cowboys move a’ breath of fresh air’

Lance knew the trade was coming but never imagined the Cowboys would come calling. He praised both organizations for being “top-tier” but is happy to be in Dallas. In fact, he called working with Mike McCarthy a “breath of fresh air” this week, despite only being in town for two days.

“It was a little bit surreal for me hearing I was going to come here knowing everything about this historic organization,” Lance said via ESPN. “Just compared to the 49ers, obviously you think of that as another one of the top-tier, historic organizations, but for me, just very excited to be here. Coach McCarthy and the entire coaching staff, man, nothing but knowledge being in all these meetings.

“It’s been awesome for me. It’s been fun. Kind of a breath of fresh air to learn a new offense and being around the guys the last two days. I feel like I’ve learned so much just ball.”

San Francisco gave up a ton of draft capital to draft Lance. A total of three first-round picks and a third-rounder were sent to the Miami Dolphins for the rights to the third pick in the 2021 draft.

On3’s Griffin McVeigh contributed to this report.