Trey Lance Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

Insider raises serious question about Trey Lance’s NFL future

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated Aug 21, 2023 5:02 PM ET

The deck has seemingly been stacked against Trey Lance since the San Francisco 49ers drafted him No. 3 overall in 2021.

Many have already given up on Lance just three years into his career, and during a recent appearance on the “49ers Talk” podcast, NBC Sports’ Peter King questioned if Lance even has a long-term future in the NFL.

"He only played one season of Division I-AA…and since then, he’s hardly played at all,” King said . “So, if you're [49ers coach] Kyle Shanahan, you want to be fair, but you also have a Super Bowl-ready team right now and you can’t be experimenting. … What’s his next team, if he does go? Depending on -- five years from now, is Trey Lance even going to be playing football? That’s a question I would have, because we just haven’t seen enough to know anything about what he can do."

Trey Lance found TE Cameron Latu for a #49ers Touchdown! Brandon Aiyuk was absolutely hyped for his teammate! pic.twitter.com/ARdzUWbIuT
— Alex Tran (@nineralex) August 20, 2023

Lance looked a touch sharper than Sam Darnold in Saturday’s 21-20 preseason win over the Denver Broncos, completing 12 of 18 passes for 173 yards, a touchdown and an interception with a passer rating of 93.

He led two scoring drives of 60 yards or more in the final 2:34 to lead the 49ers to a one-point win as time expired after trailing 20-12, and he also showed significant improvement in his mechanics, awareness and decision-making from last week's loss to the Raiders.

A lot of Trey Lance’s best throws yesterday were called back due to penalties or dropped, including this one. Maybe my favorite pass of the day.

Climbed the pocket, got out wide to be able to run but kept his eyes downfield and delivered a nice pass with touch. pic.twitter.com/KAwOcLS8Zb
— Rob “Stats” Guerrera (@StatsOnFire) August 20, 2023

Trey Lance led a 7 play 75 yard TD drive last night. Check the window he threw into here. pic.twitter.com/wedS41G20D
— Peter Schrager (@PSchrags) August 20, 2023

Lance is currently locked in a battle with Darnold for the 49ers backup QB job behind Brock Purdy. 49ers coaches are reportedly high on Darnold, and some analysts have suggested the 26-year-old could beat out Lance for the No. 2 job when the regular season starts on Sept. 10.

Despite several teams reportedly expressing interest in trading for Lance during the offseason, the 49ers elected to hold onto the 23-year-old signal caller with Purdy recovering from Tommy John surgery on his throwing arm.

Michael Gallagher

Michael Gallagher is a longtime sports journalist based out of Nashville with a decade of experience covering college football, mixed martial arts and prep sports plus the NFL and NHL — specifically the Tennessee Titans and Nashville Predators. He’s covered several notable sporting events including an AFC Championship game, a Stanley Cup Final, an NHL All-Star Game and an NHL Stadium Series. Some of his past bylines can be found at the Nashville Scene, SB Nation, The Hockey News and Fox Sports Knoxville

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