Cowboys' Mike McCarthy Evaluated Trey Lance Before Trade Despite Jerry Jones Comments

It turns out Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy was at least partially involved in the evaluation of Trey Lance before the NFC East team acquired him via trade.

"I was involved in the evaluation, but the actual business component of it I am not involved," he said, per Clarence E. Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "Those decisions come down to [owner] Jerry [Jones] and [executive vice president] Stephen [Jones]."

Jon Machota of The Athletic noted that Jerry Jones previously said he did not talk to quarterback Dak Prescott or McCarthy before making the trade.

The Cowboys traded a fourth-round draft pick to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for Lance. It was a rather unceremonious end to Lance's time with the team that selected him with the No. 3 overall pick of the 2021 NFL draft.

Injuries are partially to blame, but Lance appeared in just eight games with four starts for the 49ers during his two seasons. He also played just one game during the 2020 collegiate season for North Dakota State.

He is a quarterback who is low on experience at the highest levels, and he likely will not do much for the Cowboys other than provide depth behind Dak Prescott.

But he represented a low-risk, high-reward chance for the Cowboys, and the team seized the opportunity. McCarthy may not have been fully aware the trade was going to happen, but he at least said he was involved in the football evaluation part of the process.