Two years ago, Trey Lance was supposed to be the raw-but-gifted quarterback who could finally match the talents of the rest of the San Francisco 49ers’ star-studded roster. He was the man who would elevate the 49ers into an unmitigated juggernaut no one could even imagine stopping.
These days, it looks like the 49ers have given up on the long-term prospects of the former top-3 draft pick. It’s quite the fall from grace.
According to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, not only did Lance have a nonexistent trade market when the 49ers tried to ship him off, they don’t even remotely like him on their current quarterback depth chart.
For one, Brock Purdy is the starter if healthy. OK, I get it. He was the steward at the helm en route to the NFC title game. That’s completely understandable, though I believe Purdy was carried by pro football’s best roster more than the other way around. At the very least, Purdy has proven himself a lot more than Lance and his four career starts.
But here’s the humbling rub.
Even perennial journeyman backup Sam Darnold (Sam Darnold!) will apparently get the nod over Lance if Purdy and his elbow injury keep him from starting the 2023 NFL season. Woof. If you’re someone in Lance’s position, I’m not sure you ever quite recover from this opinion.
Some notes from @AdamSchefter on the #49ers QB situation:
– There’s was never a real trade market for Trey Lance. Not much interest. Doesn’t foresee him getting traded anytime soon.
– Brock Purdy is QB1 when healthy.
– Team likes Sam Darnold a lot and Schefty says he’s likely…
— uSTADIUM App (@uSTADIUM) June 22, 2023
Again, I understand why the 49ers prefer Purdy over Lance. I don’t agree, yet the logic of a far more known quantity adds up to me.
But to throw Lance to the wayside, someone you once invested so much of your future in, for Darnold? That’s just silly. That’s a horrific football process. Darnold is a known quantity, and we know he isn’t good. If the 49ers were more serious about sustaining their current championship window, they’d at least give Lance a shot to win his job back after a redshirt year and injuries robbed him of most of his first two seasons.
Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself. Maybe the 49ers are already waving the white flag on a player they recognize they probably shouldn’t have drafted. Can you imagine the uber-talented Justin Fields as this team’s signal-caller instead? You know, the quarterback they probably should have drafted? Ah, no, taking the best player under center available would be silly!
With Fields in the fold, I have a feeling we’re already talking about these 49ers trying to defend their Super Bowl championship rather than gnashing our teeth about one of the NFL’s most frustrating quarterback rooms.