Sometimes, life comes at you fast in the NFL.
Two years ago, the San Francisco 49ers gave up three first-rounders and a 2022 third-round selection to the Miami Dolphins for the No. 3 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. With that pick, the 49ers took North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance.
Fast forward two years later, and Lance will now find himself backing up Dak Prescott in Dallas. On Friday, the Cowboys acquired Lance from their longtime rivals for the low price of a fourth-round draft pick, as first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
It didn’t take too long for San Francisco GM John Lynch to break his silence on the stunning trade. Here’s what he said on the move, via Dieter Kurtenbach of The Mercury News:
“Really hard day. Such a wonderful young man. We took a shot, and it didn’t work out. We own that. We take accountability for it.
I think… his story is very much unwritten. I’m excited for Trey. Dallas stepped up and really wanted him. They came after him. I think it’s going to be a great landing spot for him…
This team is ready to win, and we like our quarterback room. We like Brock Purdy a lot, we like Sam Darnold, and we like Brandon Allen. We wish Trey all the best in Dallas. We’ll always care about that young man and admire his work ethic and the person that he is.”
There was never much question that Brock Purdy would open the season as the starter after winning his first seven NFL starts and helping the club to an NFC Championship appearance as a rookie.
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But just a few months, few many folks could have predicted that Sam Darnold would secure the second-stringer position, and that the 49ers would trade Lance to a rival team for such a small return.
On one hand, it’s a bad look for the 49ers that they only got four starts under Lance when you consider they gave up three (!) first-round picks for him. But this organization is well-equipped for multiple Super Bowl runs with Purdy and a star-studded roster, so they probably won’t end up losing too much sleep over the move for Lance in 2021.
