NFL Rumors: Trey Lance Trade Was Pursued by Bills, Ravens, Lions Before Cowboys Deal

The Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens and Detroit Lions reportedly expressed interest in quarterback Trey Lance before the San Francisco 49ers traded him to the Dallas Cowboys on Friday.

According to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, discussions between those teams and the Niners mostly focused on a sixth-round pick that could become a fifth-rounder, but San Francisco ended up getting a fourth-round selection from Dallas.

Cam Inman of the Mercury News reported that the Cowboys and Bills were the two finalists in trade talks for Lance.

Despite the fact that he only spent one season as the starter at FCS North Dakota State, the 49ers rolled the dice by selecting Lance with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft.

The Niners took Lance ahead of more established quarterbacks such as Justin Fields and Mac Jones, as well as players who have already blossomed into stars at other positions including wide receivers Jaylen Waddle and DeVonta Smith, offensive tackle Penei Sewell, cornerback Patrick Surtain II and linebacker Micah Parsons.

It seemed the 49ers' plan was always for Lance to serve as the backup to veteran Jimmy Garoppolo as a rookie, and they followed through on that aside from Lance getting two starts while Jimmy G was injured.

The next phase of the plan was for Lance to take over as the starter in 2023, and he won the job out of training camp before starting the first two games of the campaign.

Lance suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Week 2, though, prompting the 49ers to turn back to Garoppolo and then to rookie seventh-round pick Brock Purdy when Garoppolo got injured as well.

Purdy helped guide the Niners to the NFC Championship Game, prompting head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch to view him as the starter entering 2023.

The 49ers also signed Sam Darnold in free agency, and when it was announced this week that he had won the backup job behind Purdy, Lance was the odd man out.

In four career starts and eight career appearances, Lance is 2-2 and has completed 54.9 percent of his passes for 797 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions. He has also rushed for 235 yards and one score.

At just 23 years of age, he may still have a ton of untapped potential, and given how low the price tag is, it isn't particularly surprising that multiple teams tried to trade for him.

The Bills, Ravens and Lions all have established starting quarterbacks in Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Jared Goff, respectively, meaning Lance unquestionably would have started out as a backup.

In the case of Buffalo and Baltimore, it is unlikely he ever would have ascended into a starting role unless Allen or Jackson got injured, but he could have conceivably been the heir apparent to Goff in Detroit.

With the Cowboys, Lance may be a third-stringer out of the gates behind both Dak Prescott and Cooper Rush, although he has some time to ascend higher on the depth chart since he is signed through 2024.

Prescott is signed through 2024 as well, so it isn't outside the realm of possibility that Dallas could view Lance as a potential replacement if it declines to sign the 30-year-old Prescott to a new deal.

Lance does have a fifth-year option in his contract for 2025, and if the Cowboys see enough development out of him, they could exercise it and make him the successor to Prescott, which is something Buffalo and Baltimore could not have offered.