When the San Francisco 49ers took Trey Lance with the third overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, they expected him to be their future quarterback. That did not work out.
In two years with the 49ers, Lance made eight appearances and four starts, throwing for 797 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions while completing just 54.9 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 84.5. On top of that, an ankle injury ended his second season after just a pair of starts.
Due to the emergence of Brock Purdy, San Francisco proceeded to trade Lance to the Dallas Cowboys before the start of the 2023 campaign.
Lance is currently serving as Dak Prescott’s backup, but Niners offensive lineman Trent Williams feels that the 23-year-old will be a starter again at some point.
“I don’t have a crystal ball, but I think in this league when you do the right things and you’re made of the right stuff, eventually opportunity will find its way back to you,” said Williams, according to Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area. “I think that will happen in Trey’s case. And when it does, we’ll all see the talent everybody knows that’s inside of him.”
Lance appeared to be a remarkable prospect at North Dakota State and caught the eyes of the entire country after throwing 28 touchdown passes and no interceptions in 2019. That season, he set an NCAA record for most passing attempts without throwing a pick.
The following year, Lance played in just one game before the entire campaign was canceled due to the pandemic, but he chose to enter the NFL Draft instead of returning for another season.
Lance has certainly not panned out on the professional level thus far, but to be fair, he hasn’t gotten much of an opportunity just yet.
Perhaps Williams is right. Maybe Lance will become a starter one day.
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