San Francisco 49ers should be hesitant to trade Trey Lance
By James Reeve
The San Francisco 49ers have fielded calls on quarterback Trey Lance, but the team should be hesitant to trade him away.
The 2022 season saw the San Francisco 49ers use three different starting quarterbacks, all to varying degrees of success en route to a 13-4 record, an NFC West title, and even two playoff victories that took them to the NFC Championship.
Ultimately, the 49ers fell to Super Bowl runners-up the Philadelphia Eagles, but their performances in the seven games prior to the 31-7 loss have them sitting fairly comfortable with their quarterback situation in 2023.
San Francisco 49ers Should Wait Before Trading Lance
Seventh-round selection Brock Purdy from the Iowa State Cyclones led the 49ers to a 5-0 record to end the regular season before guiding the team to victories over the Seattle Seahawks (41-23) and Dallas Cowboys (19-12).
Starting the season third on the team’s depth chart, Purdy impressed the football world with 1374 passing yards, 13 touchdowns and just four interceptions in his five-game stint after injuries to Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo forced the rookie into unexpected action.
There’s an alternate reality where neither player got injured and Purdy never sees the field, potentially ever, as a late draft pick. But now, the 49ers look set to make Purdy their official starter after seeing enough of him last season.
This has opened up talk over Lance’s future with the team. Over his first two seasons, Lance has appeared in just four games, sporting a 2-2 record. He looked assured in his first two appearances in 2021, throwing 602 yards, five touchdowns, and two interceptions.
He was less impressive in his second season, one in which he was expected to grab the starting role with both hands and lead the team forward, and now there’s a chance the team could offload him in a trade.
The 49ers have said that they are not shopping Lance, but teams around the league have called about him. While it might be tempting for the team to acquire some assets, particularly draft capital, letting go of Lance could backfire if Purdy cannot replicate his impressive form from last season.
Purdy was a huge surprise for everyone. He was the 2022 Draft’s Mr. Irrelevant, the very last pick in the entire draft, and no one before the season could have ever imagined him hitting the field and having the positive impact he did.
There have been plenty of quarterbacks in NFL history who have stepped in for a team’s starter and looked impressive enough to warrant a longer look, such as Kevin Kolb with the Philadelphia Flyers and Matt Flynn with the Green Bay Packers, but a small sample size is always something to be wary of.
Backups can look good in limited action, but what will happen when Purdy is handed the reins and has to lead the team throughout the offseason and then into the regular season? Could the larger responsibility be too much for him? Or will he flourish and elevate his game to another level and become a legitimate starting quarterback in this league?
Until the San Francisco 49ers actually witness what Purdy turns out to be, letting go for Lance, who was a third-overall pick in 2021 and is even a year younger than his teammate, might not be the logical route to take.
Take time, wait a while, and see whether or not Purdy is the real deal before making any kind of decision on Lance’s future.
At least get to pre-season before entertaining any kind of trade talks. Lance’s value might even be higher once the 2023 season has begun and teams are finding out that their own QB situations are not particularly stable.