The 49ers were willing to part with third-year quarterback Trey Lance for reasonable compensation, despite trading up a lot to get him No. 3 overall in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft. The Cowboys took advantage of that, acquiring Lance for only a fourth-round pick in exchange on Friday.
Dallas wasn't on the short list of teams expected to take a shot on Lance, given it has starting QB Dak Prescott in the middle of a four-year, $160 million contract. But now Lance, who lost the backup job behind Brock Purdy in San Francisco to Sam Darnold, is in a reserve mix now with Cooper Rush and Will Grier.
Why did Jerry Jones feel the need to make the move on Lance? Here's an explanation for the mildly surprising trade from Week 3 of the 2023 NFL preseason.
MORE: Full details of the Trey Lance trade between the 49ers and Cowboys
Why did the Cowboys trade for Trey Lance?
The Cowboys have Prescott signed through the 2024 season. He just turned 30 in July and has missed 17 of Dallas' past 50 regular-season games. He also is coming off a season of regression that put him back where he was during a sophomore slump.
Rush has fared well at times filling in for Prescott as the No. 2, but Grier, who was drafted by the Panthers in the third round in 2019, isn't much of an appealing developmental QB. Lance represented a cheap upside stash without giving up much.
Lance turned only 23 in May and still carries a massive arm and upside. He has started only four games for the 49ers and because of the COVID-19 pandemic, didn't get a full final college football season with North Dakota State in 2020.
San Francisco's coaches were a bit impatient with Lance, expecting him to show that he could emerge as its unquestioned franchise QB in Year 3. Those expectations were unreasonable given his major ankle injury in Week 2 last season and getting "redshirted" behind Jimmy Garoppolo as a rookie.
The 49ers also learned how good Brock Purdy could be operating their offense as a seventh-round rookie last season. Although there was a sense of a young QB competition between him and Lance, Purdy had the right to keep the job as long as he was healed well enough from his elbow injury.
Once Darnold, the former Jet and Panther, proved he was a good fit for Kyle Shanahan's offensive system, Lance was more expendable as a No. 3, despite the 49ers being able to afford to keep him.
The Cowboys like Rush, but he's a seasoned backup all the way with limited upside. He is never going to push Prescott to start when both are healthy. Grier already has proved his physical limitations.
Lance offers a high ceiling along what's a current low floor. Looking at his frame (6-4, 228), arm and athleticism, he should have had some vibes similar to Prescott (6-2, 228) coming out of the 2016 draft.
Remember the Cowboys used a fourth-round pick on Prescott and have gotten a great return on investment. They're looking to hit on a Prescott-style prospect for a second time in eight years under Jones.
MORE: What did the 49ers trade for Trey Lance? Revisiting picks involved in 2021 NFL Draft deal
What does adding Trey Lance mean for Dak Prescott?
Prescott doesn't need to worry about his starting job in the short term. Back healthy, Prescott is expected to be a familiar efficient groove in an offense now led by Mike McCarthy and Brian Schottenheimer, with former offensive coordinator Kellen Moore now with the Chargers.
But Prescott should be a little on alert that he needs to perform closer to an elite level, stat. The time is coming when the Cowboys can move on from him if there are more concerns of regression, regardless of whether they are tied to his durability.
Rush is a good QB in a pinch. Grier hasn't shown much for either of his teams. Lance would have the chance to develop into the same type of NFL passing pro as Prescott and might be a better fit for what McCarthy and Schottenheimer are doing compared to Shanahan's scheme.
Shanahan has shown that he can't make a dual-threat QB work as well as the classic rhythmic pocket passers. His best pupils remain Matt Ryan and Kirk Cousins. There's a comfort level that Garoppolo and Purdy gave more with their floor than Lance did with his potential.
The Cowboys, meanwhile, were fine taking that more reasonable gamble on an athletic passer, given his best-case scenario is a strong contingency for Prescott, whom he profiles more like than any past Shanahan QB.
