49ers' John Lynch addresses Trey Lance trade speculation
San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch has addressed the trade rumors hovering over the status of quarterback Trey Lance this spring.
Per Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk and David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone, Lynch spoke with reporters Monday and said he is confident Lance will remain on the San Francisco roster through the 2023 NFL season.
"I expect Trey to be here, and we're excited about Trey's ability to compete and what he can do for our franchise, just as we were when we drafted Trey." Lynch said. "I think the only thing that's changed this offseason is that Trey's gone and got himself healthy."
Lynch added that rumors about Lance are "a lot of smoke."
"It hasn't been extremely active, and it's not like we've put it out there that, 'Hey, we're taking offers for Trey. Call 1-800 ... .' That's not been the process," Lynch continued. "People's job in this is to ask questions. Has that been what has happened on a couple of occasions? Sure, but it hasn't been that substantive."
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and an unnamed league general manager both said last week that Lynch has fielded calls regarding Lance this offseason. Rapoport later noted a possible trade could be a "few months" away, and 49ers insider Matt Barrows of The Athletic said ahead of the weekend that "it’s hard to see a trade happening imminently" for multiple reasons.
Lance has attempted just 102 career regular-season passes and is recovering from the campaign-ending ankle injury he suffered in September. While the 22-year-old has been replaced atop the depth chart by a healthy Brock Purdy, Purdy underwent surgery on March 10 to repair the torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.
It's possible Purdy won't be cleared to face a live defense until around Thanksgiving Day, at the earliest, which could leave Lance and free-agency acquisition Sam Darnold as the club's top options at the position come September.
Some reportedly believed during the combine that the 49ers could target Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins and also that those two clubs "talked about" Lance in Indianapolis.
Lance recently said he had "no comment" and "no information" about trade rumors mentioning his name, and it sounds like Lynch isn't eager to sell the 2021 first-round pick at a discounted price either before or after the upcoming draft gets underway Thursday night.
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