NFL Rumors: Cowboys' Trey Lance Was Briefly Discussed by Vikings as Trade Target

In the wake of Kirk Cousins' season-ending injury, the Minnesota Vikings at least considered several options at quarterback before making the move to acquire Joshua Dobbs from the Arizona Cardinals.

Per The Athletic's Dianna Russini, the Vikings had a "brief discussion" internally about calling the Dallas Cowboys regarding Trey Lance.

Cousins tore his Achilles in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 24-10 win over the Green Bay Packers. He underwent successful surgery on Nov. 1.

When the Vikings lost Cousins, there was some speculation they could pursue Lance in a trade. Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio reported they had talks with the San Francisco 49ers during the NFL scouting combine about a deal involving the 23-year-old.

After the 49ers named Sam Darnold as the No. 2 quarterback behind Brock Purdy in August, Lance was traded to the Cowboys for a 2024 fourth-round draft pick.

It makes sense that the Vikings would at least kick the tires on Lance. Several members of their front office used to work in San Francisco, including general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and vice president of football operations Demitrius Washington.

Adofo-Mensah was no longer with the 49ers when Lance was drafted in 2021, but Washington was their manager of football research and development at the time.

There's also the intrigue of what Lance might become if he ever got a chance to play for an extended period of time. He started four games over his two seasons with the 49ers, throwing for 797 yards, five touchdowns, three interceptions and a 54.9 completion percentage.

Lance is still young and only two years removed from being the No. 3 overall pick in the draft. It would make sense for a quarterback-needy team to take a chance on him, especially if it was during the season and a start suffered a major injury.

The Vikings don't seem to have made the call to Dallas to potentially make a deal before the trade deadline at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday. They opted to send a 2024 sixth-round draft pick to the Arizona Cardinals for Dobbs and a 2024 conditional seventh-round pick.

Dobbs threw for 1,569 yards, eight touchdowns, five interceptions and completed 62.8 percent of his attempts in eight starts with the Cardinals this season.