Former 49ers QB Alex Smith talks Brock Purdy, Cowboys' Trey Lance

Retired Pro Bowl quarterback and current ESPN analyst Alex Smith feels for Trey Lance after the San Francisco 49ers traded Lance to the Dallas Cowboys ahead of the signal-caller's third NFL season. 

"I guess I was not totally surprised," Smith said about that transaction while speaking with Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports. "I just felt like, I have such empathy for Trey. I carried a lot of weight as a young professional for a lot of years. But I went to a team that had the No. 1 pick for a reason. They weren't very good. So I had a lot of years to grow through that. Trey just didn't have that luxury."

Smith, of course, officially entered the NFL when the 49ers made him the first overall pick of the 2005 draft. He played for the organization through the 2012 season. Meanwhile, San Francisco drafted Lance third overall in 2021, but deemed the 23-year-old surplus-to-requirements this summer after he fell to third on the depth chart beneath starter Brock Purdy and primary backup Sam Darnold.

As for Purdy, it remains to be seen whether he can consistently win and stay healthy at the highest level. The former Iowa State quarterback thus far thrown just 170 career regular-season passes and is coming off March surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, but Smith is nevertheless high on the final pick of the 2022 draft, who won his first seven pro starts (including the playoffs). 

"Brock, man, I couldn't tell you how impressed I've been with his demeanor," Smith told Benjamin. "I was out at some practices this summer. He looks phenomenal. He's just built (for this). It's not a fluke. You know, at the combine, we love the measurables. We love to measure height, weight, 40 times. But in the end, if you can't process information and you're not accurate, you're not gonna make it in the NFL. Brock has both those things."

As of early Wednesday evening, OddsChecker had the 49ers second among the betting favorites at +400 odds to win this season's conference title game and represent the NFC in Super Bowl LVIII. It sounds like Smith thinks Purdy has the goods to start a Super Bowl Sunday matchup as soon as this coming February.