Getty Image / Thearon W Henderson
Heading into the 2022 NFL season, the San Francisco 49ers made the decision to make former 3rd overall pick Trey Lance their starting quarterback.
He began the season in that role, but suffered an injury early in the year that ended his season.
After Jimmy Garoppolo suffered an injury later in the year, the door was opened for Brock Purdy to take over the starting job.
He made the most of the opportunity and now is the clear choice to be the team’s starter in 2023.
Since then, the 49ers have also added Sam Darnold to their quarterback room.
According to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, this could lead to an awkward situation where Lance become the team’s 3rd-string QB, which might eventually lead to the 49ers actually trading Lance.
From our NFL Draft broadcast: A discussion of the #49ers QB situation, including what could happen to Trey Lance. pic.twitter.com/0hwpl1p57P
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 29, 2023
“I would not be surprised if the 49ers took another late quarterback here (in the draft)… First of all, this kind of goes without saying, to have the No. 3 overall pick end up being the potential third-string quarterback on your roster is awkward. And at some point there is more value out there in trading him than there is in keeping him on the roster. There’s going to be some team – and maybe in August… if someone loses a quarterback, maybe Trey Lance is better on another roster,” Rapoport said.
Things have been tough for much of the 2021 QB class. Zach Wilson, who was selected directly in front of Trey Lance, has been replaced by Aaron Rodgers and hasn’t looked like a starting-caliber QB in the NFL.
Mac Jones struggled last year and could be in a QB competition with Bailey Zappe. Even Justin Fields has had somewhat of a tough time in the NFL thanks to a lack of receiving options or blocking.
Still, Lance is the only one that we haven’t seen get a real chance at being a starter in the NFL. If the 49ers do end up making Darnold the backup to Purdy, they probably wouldn’t have too hard of a time finding a team that was willing to take a chance on Lance.