A few days ago, we noted the Cincinnati Bengals could benefit from the quarterback mess around the San Francisco 49ers.
The idea was that, with the 49ers demoting former first-rounder Trey Lance in favor of Brock Purdy and Sam Darnold, perhaps the Bengals would be able to reunite with Brandon Allen in either free agency or on the waiver wire.
But the 49ers traded Lance to Dallas, essentially guaranteeing the 49ers keep three quarterbacks and the Bengals don’t get a shot at Allen.
Not long after, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reported both the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens were two teams interested in a Lance trade:
The Buffalo Bills and the Baltimore Ravens are two teams that had conversations with San Francisco about a possible trade for Trey Lance.
In the NFC, the Detroit Lions also showed interest, per sources.
Most of the early discussions about a trade involved a 6th rounder that…— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) August 26, 2023
It’s interesting to hear that two of the Bengals’ biggest rivals were in on conversations around Lance, especially with Baltimore getting spotty attendance from Lamar Jackson over the last few years.
On paper, would-be contenders going after some high-upside backups with good control over their rookie deals makes sense.
For the Bengals, the move never really made a ton of sense, though, given that they like Jake Browning as developmental depth and have to carefully walk a salary cap line while thinking about extensions for the likes of Joe Burrow.
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