Trey Lance Trade Rumors: 49ers May Have to Agree to Pay Some of QB's Salary in Deal

The time to move quarterback Trey Lance is now for the San Francisco 49ers, and including some extra money in the deal may be exactly what the team needs to get the deal done.

He would come on a cheap deal in 2023 as he has just $940,000 remaining on his yearly salary, but whichever team acquires him would owe $5.31 million in 2024 if it picked up his whole contract.

Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio reported that San Francisco could have to pay some of that 2024 salary to trade Lance.

With cutdown day looming on Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET, the 49ers have three options: releasing veteran Brandon Allen; rolling with four quarterbacks on the roster; or releasing Lance and eating $6.25 million in salary.

All of this was unfathomable a few seasons ago when the 49ers gave up three first-round picks and an additional third-round pick to take him with the No. 3 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. He was set to be the team's starter in 2022, but an early season ankle-injury ended his year and 2022 seventh-round pick Brock Purdy grasped the starting role by the end of the year.

With Purdy set to lead the offense and Sam Darnold set to back him up, Lance is currently an expensive third-string quarterback. His value is lower than the 49ers would like it to be, and the prospect of sinking additional value just to get him out of town surely must sting for the front office.

However, it may be what needs to be done, especially if they value Allen as a true third-string quarterback. His window for success in the NFL is surely not done, as he is still just 23-years-old and a new situation could be exactly what he needs to reach his once sky-high potential.