Insider reveals how 49ers could trade Trey Lance

Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio has more information about how the San Francisco 49ers could trade quarterback Trey Lance before they have to make other roster decisions. 

"This could require, as one league source has explained it, the 49ers to agree to pay some of the money due (to Lance) in 2024," Florio explained. 

Per Florio and Spotrac, Lance has roughly $5.31M in guaranteed salary attached to the final year of his rookie contract (not counting a fifth-year option). According to David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport said during a Friday appearance on San Francisco sports radio station KNBR that the money "seems to be the holdup on any deal," in part because some teams apparently aren't convinced Lance would win a primary backup job in a competition next summer. 

Earlier this week, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter reported that the 49ers' "perfect world" scenario would be to trade Lance before Tuesday's 4:00 p.m. ET roster cutdown deadline. Florio offered more information about why that's likely the case:

"The clock is ticking on the 49ers if their unspoken goal is to unload Lance and keep Brandon Allen as their third-string quarterback. If they can’t trade Lance by Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. ET, they’ll either have to carry four quarterbacks on the roster until trading Lance or release Allen. As a vested veteran, (Allen) could immediately sign with any other team."

Schefter previously noted that the 49ers "like" Allen as a QB3 beneath starter Brock Purdy and main backup Sam Darnold on the depth chart. 

Perhaps the 49ers' biggest problem as it pertains to finding a buyer for Lance is that it is now no secret they want to move on from the unproven 2021 first-round draft pick and also give him a fresh start elsewhere. Thus, any interested teams can offer the bare minimum to San Francisco for Lance through at least Tuesday morning to see if 49ers general manager John Lynch will take just about anything he can get for the 23-year-old signal-caller.