The Cowboys won a brief, Day 3 picks-laden bidding war last night for Trey Lance last night. The move gives Dallas a notable name on the QB depth chart behind Dak Prescott, and owner Jerry Jones elaborated on the thought process behind the move on Saturday. 
The Cowboys acquired Lance for a 2024 fourth-round pick – a pittance of a return from San Francisco’s perspective considering the price they paid to move up in the 2021 draft to select him third overall. The deal sorts out the 49ers’ situation under center with Brock Purdy set to be backed up by Sam Darnold and Brandon Allen. Dallas, meanwhile, has Prescott and Cooper Rush in place, along with Lance as a developmental project.
“Quarterbacks are a precious commodity in the NFL,” Jones said when asked about the deal (via Jon Machota of The Athletic). “We should have in the wings a quarterback on the come. When San Francisco called, I didn’t want them to hang up… We want to back Dak Prescott up as well as we can… You can’t have enough quarterbacks. We’ll see how it works out, but it’s worth any risk we’re taking here.”
Jones added that he does not foresee Lance playing during the regular season this year, but questions have been raised about how it could affect Prescott’s future. The latter is on the books through 2024, but he is due to carry a cap hit of $59.5MM that year. An extension for the 30-year-old aimed at lowering that figure has been on the team’s radar for several months now. The presence of Prescott for the short- and, in all likelihood, medium-term future did not play a role in the Lance deal.
Jones added (via ESPN’s Todd Archer) that Prescott’s financial situation was not a consideration when negotiating the Lance trade, and that the two-time Pro Bowler was not notified about the trade before it was official. The Cowboys have been eyeing a developmental passer in each of the past several drafts, with Jones saying the team was prepared to draft Jalen Hurts in 2020. They now have a 23-year-old to attempt to develop in Lance while relying on Prescott for at least the time being.
From a financial standpoint, Lance will not be a burdensome signal-caller until next year. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated tweets that the 49ers already paid out a $2.82MM roster bonus, leaving the Cowboys responsible for only his base salary ($940K) in 2023. Next season, on the other hand, Lance will be due a fully guaranteed $5.31MM. Where he stands in the Cowboys’ organizational plans by that point will be worth watching closely.
Jerry low-key is telling Dak to kick rocks next season
Jerry is parading every bum kicker he can find through Dallas so Dak probably will get an opportunity to kick at some point. The Cowboys will certainly have better luck developing Lance into a kicker than a QB.
I wouldn’t bet the ranch that the Cowboys can’t develop Lance into a quality QB. Tony Romo was an UDFA, while Prescott was drafted in the 4th round.
Trey Lance has the measurable’s, and is known to be intelligent, hard working, and ia film room junkie. A change of scenery and a different coaching voice can make all of the difference in the world.
Lance fits into the Cowboys offense. Prescott is a mobile pass/run style QB and so is Lance. Very good move. Cooper Rush is more a band-aid style QB. He doesn’t match Prescott’s skillset and isn’t quite good enough to start.
The goal is probably to phase out Cooper Rush and have Lance work as Prescott’s backup for another three years. If Prescott is injured (getting older), Lance will have a good chance to show off his skills under relatively low pressure (he’s QB2, expectations are modest, he’s not displacing a healthy successful starter like Garropolo).
Much as I dislike Dallas, this is a very savvy, low-risk, high reward move.
There’s plenty of “film room junkies” other there that just can’t get it done on the field either…
Can’t spell “junkie” without “junk”. Now that the preseason is over, the chance to develop will be stunted, he’ll be out there running scout team far more than he will be Dallas’ offense. So after 2 wasted years “redshirting” in SF, he’ll spend another year wasted in Dallas. Lance was drafted far above where he should’ve been picked. If not for SF having to find out if he could play at this level he’d have been cut long ago and seeking employment in the XFL/USFL. But leave it to good old Jerry to up the offers from 6th round to a 4th; and there is no way if Dak is gone they expect to hand the reigns over to Lance…none!
I know there might be an Eagles bias at work here but I totally agree with what your saying.
There “might” be an Eagles bias with PH? Yeah and trolls “might” be said to live under bridges. He has never found a Cowboys related article that he wasn’t interested in trolling on.
The ironic thing is that we’re just a few years removed from the Jalen Hurts gamble. The Eagles were widely criticized for spending a second round pick on Hurts just a little over two years after Carson Wentz had an arguably MVP type season. You know, the same Carson Wentz that the Eagles spent the 2nd overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft on (the Cowboys drafted Prescott with the 135th pick that year). Wentz imploded in 2020 and was benched in December.
Hurts came in and started 4 games in December. His stats for those four games are remarkably similar to Trey Lance‘s stats after his first four starts:
JH 15G/4GS, 1-3 W/L, 52% Comp, 6 TD, 4 Int, 33.8 QBR
TL 8G/4S, 2-2 W/L, 54.9% Comp, 5 TD, 3 Int, 34.2 QBR
I’m sure that as an Eagles fan he is proud that they spent the 2nd overall pick on Carson Wentz. Now they didn’t have the 2nd overall pick, the Eagles had to trade FIVE picks to acquire it. Which is probably why PH is comfortable ridiculing JJ for spending another late 4th round pick on a developmental QB. Yes, CAN YOU BELIEVE that JJ bid a 4th rounder when the Bills were “only” bidding a conditional 5th? Of course, if the Bills and Cowboys offers were the same San Fran would’ve traded him to the AFC.
Multiple teams were interested in acquiring Trey Lance, and none of them were concerned that the preseason is over.
A 4th round pick for an athletically talented and intelligent young QB is very good investment. Perhaps it’ll pay off like the Jalen Hurts investment, at a much lower cost. Lord knows, the Cowboys are acquiring a young QB at a cost far below what the 49rs and the Eagles spent.
Blah, blah, blah…and Carson Wentz played at an MVP caliber level when healthy in Philly. Lance’s NFL career highlight will be as Scout Team MVP 3 years in a row.
Blah, blah, blah – good comeback.
Allow me to retort. Carson Wentz played at an MVP caliber level for exactly one season. His record for the other four seasons was a far from MVP like 24– 30–1. The Eagles traded five draft choices and two players in order to trade up twice to the second overall position in the 2016 draft to get their “franchise“ QB. By 2019 he was averaging a fumble a game, in 2020 he averaged more than 4 sacks a game before being benched. Your MVP caliber franchise QB is currently sitting on a couch somewhere, watching exhibition football with the rest of us.
Any NFL team could have Carson Wentz without any draft compensation. It wouldn’t cost a 4th, 5th, or 6th round pick, but still NO ONE wants your franchise QB.
And yet you’re talking crap about the Cowboys investing a single 4th round pick on a 23 yr old QB that was widely graded as a top 10-15 pick in the 2021 draft.
You’re a funny guy. You should let the Bills and Lions know that you know much much more than their front offices.
What better way to discuss one of the biggest busts in NFL draft history than to spin it off about Jalen Hurts and now Carson Wentz, two guys that have nothing to do with your man crush. No other top 5 draft pick has played less for the draft that drafted him than Lance, that makes him an epic bust. Trading a 3rd overall pick for a late 4th rounder just 2 years later is as laughable as your defense of this scout team go hero. That no other team was willing to come close to the pick Dallas sent to SF is not surprising and doesn’t mean he has a future in Dallas, just that’s it’s Jerry being Jerry. Dallas would have been better off keeping that draft pick and Grier.
There’s a lot of busts in NFL draft history. What about the fatso QB the Raiders took number one? He was supposed to be no miss. Oh, and Ryan Leaf. Everyone remembers Ryan Leaf. Trey Lance will have to do a lot worse than have an ankle injury and throw three interceptions to five touchdown passes to rank on the all-time draft busts list.
“ONE OF the biggest busts in NFL draft history”…yes he is, and the fact that they didn’t just whiff on their pick at 3rd overall, but they gave up so much to move up and whiff means they missed out on building at numerous positions they could’ve improved on doesn’t help.
What San Francisco traded doesn’t figure into draft bust. Trey Lance is a #3 NFL draft pick. He’s not an extraordinarily bad pick. The 49ers were able to wheedle a fourth round pick out of Dallas three years later. Biggest draft busts in NFL history are not traded for fourth round picks three years later. They are cut and mostly on their way to federal prison by that point.
Out of every top 5 pick since 1967 no other player has played less for the team that drafted him. That they got a 4th TWO years later (2021) doesn’t lessen the sting, he’s an epic bust, and yes you can and should include all they gave up to get him at #3 when considering that. They could’ve plugged numerous holes with contributing players, instead got a scout team QB.
Trey Lance is only a bust for San Fran, much like Jim Plunkett was a bit of a bust (first overall) for the Patriots, who didn’t really shine until his 10th year in the league (Super Bowl MVP). Anyone acquiring him for a mid to late round pick is getting a very young prospect with a very high ceiling for a low cost. Lance is an intelligent 23 yr old QB with a cannon for an arm and very good mobility. Because of these attributes, at least FOUR teams (the Bills, Cowboys, Ravens, and Lions) were actively working to trade for him. The difference in cost between spending a late round fourth vs a conditional fifth is negligible for a quality QB prospect. TL wasn’t going to fall to any of the above teams via waivers, which is why he had solid trade interest in him.
He only got 4 starts in 2 years due to playing behind Jimmy Garoppolo, a knee injury in his rookie year and a season ending ankle injury in 2022 that required a couple of surgeries.
He only had 17 starts in college due to the Covid pandemic and declaring early for the NFL draft. Lance played in 19 games, with a 17–0 record as a starter. His TD to interception ratio was 30 TDs to 1 interception.
Sorry you get sweaty with a lump in your throat anytime that JJ’s and the Cowboys come up. I’d suggest therapy or upping your meds.
The injuries would worry me if I were a Cowboys exec @earmbrister, but otherwise you’re right. Trey Lance is an excellent and motivated prospect. He’s now headed to a team which seems to be a good fit for him. Yes, the 49ers are nutcases to spend all those picks to trade up to pick 3 for a prospect whom they might have been able to snag at 12 or 15.
Why the hate on Trey Lance? It’s not his fault, it’s Kyle Shanahan’s fault. The 49ers would have been better served by a steady game manager like Matt Jones for whom they would not have had to trade up at all.
The injuries would be more of a concern if they came when he was 30+ and if they were arm, shoulder, or back injuries. And at age 21 or 22 you tend to heal much more quickly and completely.
Why the hate on Trey Lance? Because he was drafted at great cost by San Fran, and traded for by the Cowboys. There would be much less hate if this was the Cardinals trading him to the Browns.