The reviews on Cowboys quarterback Trey Lance were somewhat mixed after Saturday’s preseason finale, a game that saw the former third-overall draft pick post a 320-plus-yard performance but also toss five interceptions in a 26-19 loss.
For context, throwing picks in five games is something that’s happened in just seven regular-season tilts in franchise history… and two of those times were by Eddie LeBaron, in 1960 and 1961, the club’s first two seasons of existence.
But despite maddening inconsistency, Lance doesn’t appear to have endangered his spot in the Cowboys locker room, with major cuts coming on Tuesday.
“Certainly, we’re planning on him being on our roster, for sure,” Jones told a gaggle of reporters after Saturday’s game.
“I saw good, and I saw some things that you’d like to have back,” Jones admitted. “I hate those five interceptions are going to be a stat on a game that I couldn’t have asked for more reps and a better situation to watch him play. And he needed that, because the one thing he’s missing more than anything is the lack of reps.”
True enough. Lance has had more passing attempts during this preseason as a Cowboy (113) than he had during his entire regular-season tenure with the 49ers (102). He’s been around for three years now, so it’s easy to forget how young Lance still is. Consider this: he’s actually younger- by just one day- than Falcons rookie Michael Penix Jr.
So he’s still very green, something head coach Mike McCarthy readily acknowledges and factors into any interception talk.
“I wish we had three more preseason games just to get him out there, just to keep playing, because he had tremendous production,” McCarthy said in his postgame press conference. “But yes, the turnovers are always the first thing we talk about and coach and go through.”
Granted, that part of the conversation will take longer than normal after this outing, but Lance also showed some real positives on Saturday. McCarthy pointed to his final throw to the goal line as time expired. It was picked off, but, if you squint, there was a silver lining to be taken from it.
Trey Lance throws his fifth interception vs the Chargers as time expires. #NFL #TreyLance pic.twitter.com/e7WhRp1Stn
— Tanner Phifer (@TannerPhifer) August 24, 2024
“That last opportunity, he definitely was where he needed to be,” McCarthy observed. “He had a chance to hit that last touchdown. There’s always been four or five plays each game that he’ll learn from, but he continually gets better every time you give him a chance. I think that says a lot about him. I think he’s just a young guy that needs to play.”
Whether it should continue to be in a Cowboys uniform will be the subject of much debate over the coming days, weeks, and- depending on how starter Dak Prescott’s contract negotiations go- months.
Lance has flashed during his preseason run: mostly with his legs, but also with the occasional laser shot that makes it very hard to completely write him off as non-NFL material.
If Jones is to be taken at his word, there have been enough of those to warrant the Cowboys continuing their experiment with the North Dakota State product. Whether it will be as Prescott’s primary backup or the team’s emergency third-stringer remains to be seen.
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Jones knows Lance is in a better spot than he was a year ago at this time, when the Cowboys traded to get him. Further, he believes the young man has taken several huge steps in his progression just over the preseason.
“I think the main thing is the improvement from over the last six weeks. That’s impressive, very impressive,” Jones said. “What you’re looking for is: the arrow going up? And it’s going up, dramatically, really. Every practice and every game,” Jones explained. “A lot of things he wasn’t doing as well early that he’s doing well now.”
Not well enough to quiet all the doubters, to be sure. But apparently well enough to convince Jones he has something worth hanging onto, for at least the time being.
Still, the owner was asked Saturday if he had any regrets about making the trade that brought Lance- and the controversy he continues to ignite- to Dallas.
“For a fourth-round pick?” Jones asked with a grin. “Are you kidding me?”
He’s already got a fourth-round passer who plays like a first-rounder. So maybe, to Jones, it all evens out.
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