NFL Insider: 49ers QB Trey Lance Should Be Traded to Texans for 2nd-Round Draft Pick

The San Francisco 49ers should already look to cut their losses with Trey Lance in the eyes of one NFL insider.

ESPN's Dan Graziano suggested the Houston Texans should offer their 2023 second-round pick for Lance

"If the 49ers get to the Super Bowl with Brock Purdy, they're going to be tempted to run it back with him," he wrote. "Getting something in return for Lance as he heads into the third year of his rookie contract would make sense, even if it's far, far, far less than they gave up to get him in the first place."

This is a scenario that's arguably far more favorable to Houston than San Francisco.

Graziano noted how the Texans could potentially find a long-term solution at quarterback without dealing either of their two 2023 first-rounders. The 49ers, meanwhile, will have gotten pennies on the dollar after trading three first-round picks in total to move up in the 2021 draft and select Lance.

If a second-round pick is the best he can do, then Niners general manager John Lynch might as well give it at least one more year to see whether Lance can turn a corner. Thanks to injuries, he has made just eight appearances so far, which is far too small a sample to make any firm judgments.

It's also too early to posit Purdy could be a better option moving forward.

Sure the seventh-round pick has exceeded expectations, throwing for 636 yards, six touchdowns and one interception over the last three weeks, but there's a reason he fell to the very last pick of the 2022 draft.

Gardner Minshew II, a sixth-rounder in 2019, had a similarly bright start to his career with the Jacksonville Jaguars and subsequently fell back to earth. The Jags moved on to Trevor Lawrence in 2021.

The outlook for Purdy could be very different once the 49ers' postseason run ends.