As expected in some circles — and as angrily disputed in others — Trey Lance has fallen to third string on the 49ers’ depth chart. The question becomes whether the 49ers will keep him, or trade him.
The 49ers went through something like this last August, waiting for another team to develop an interest in Jimmy Garoppolo, possibly through an injury to a starter. Eventually, the 49ers and Garoppolo worked out a deal that held player and team together. By Week 2, when Lance broke an ankle, their QB2 once again became QB1.
This year, the 49ers have last year’s QB3 (Brock Purdy) as their new QB1, and newcomer Sam Darnold has won the backup job. While the 49ers’ arguably should keep Lance around because (as they learned in 2022) they might need their third-stringer, coach Kyle Shanahan might be content to give that role to Brandon Allen.
Early in camp, Shanahan mused to Michael Silver of the San Francisco Chronicle about possibly keeping four quarterbacks on the 53-man roster. Then, when Shanahan was asked during a press conference about possibly keeping four quarterbacks, he said this: “Yeah, I have no idea. I mean there’s always types of scenarios but I’m just excited to get pads on tomorrow and start playing a little bit more football. So, it’s about 30 days away so we’ll see how it unfolds.”
It’s now a week away. The deadline for trimming the roster from 90 to 53. The window to trade Lance, or two keep four on the roster after the roster is reduced, is closing.
Whether they trade him depends on whether someone is willing to give them value they deem sufficient. Setting aside whether they’ll be reasonable in their expectations for a player in whom they invested, all told, three first-round picks and a third-round pick, who will want Lance?
At the Scouting Combine, there was chatter regarding a possible trade with the Vikings, with Kirk Cousins and Trey Lance swapping spots. Now that the Vikings have no arrangement with Cousins beyond 2023, they could want to acquire Lance and work on developing him for 2024.
Lance also could be a viable backup, especially on teams with quarterbacks who move. The Bills have had, to date, a none-of-the-above competition to serve as Josh Allen’s understudy. And in Kansas City, where the Chiefs will choose between Blaine Gabbert and Shane Buechele, wouldn’t that be a perfect place for Lance to develop?
The 49ers could wait through the upcoming round of preseason games for a potential injury. If a starter on a contending team happens to go down for the year, a demand could emerge out of thin air.
Regardless, the truth has finally been revealed. Shanahan regards Darnold more highly than Lance. If Shanahan also regards Allen more highly than Lance, it’s time for Lance to go — and it’s time for the 49ers to forget what they gave up to get him and get what they can.
