49ers' John Lynch refutes latest Trey Lance trade report

San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch poured cold water over a Wednesday report regarding the team searching for would-be buyers for quarterback Trey Lance. 

"That's not accurate," Lynch said during a Thursday appearance on San Francisco sports radio station KNBR, per David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone. "If I responded to every report, I'd have no time in my day, but that is not accurate."

After it was learned on Wednesday that, as had been expected, free-agency signing Sam Darnold won the primary backup job over Lance, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported that "(San Francisco's) front office has been shopping (Lance) for much of the offseason" but "never received a significant trade offer." 

Back in June, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter reported that "there was no trade market" regarding the 2021 first-round draft pick this offseason. 

Lynch added on Thursday that he thinks carrying Lance, Darnold and starting signal-caller Brock Purdy on the roster is "the most likely option" for at least the Week 1 game at the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 10. 

"As I said, we're very happy with Trey," Lynch continued. "...If we could find a landing spot for Trey, that is a really good one for him and works for our organization, that's not something we turn a blind eye to. But that's not where our focus is right now. I think our focus is on Trey getting back here and us being the best football team. We're getting close to Pittsburgh, and that's kind of where we're at."

Lance has repeatedly been linked with the Minnesota Vikings, in part because Minnesota starter Kirk Cousins is a 35-year-old who remains on track to hit free agency after the upcoming season. While it's unclear if Minnesota has any interest in Lance, Jeff Howe of The Athletic mentioned on Wednesday that multiple "high-ranking decision-makers from" NFL teams think the 23-year-old is only worth "a late Saturday" draft pick. 

At that value, the Niners may decide it's better to stash Lance away as an emergency option after they lost three starting QBs to injuries last season.