Insider shares big trade update about 49ers' Trey Lance

It appears San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch isn't finding any buyers for quarterback Trey Lance ahead of a reported self-imposed deadline for such a transaction. 

"It's just really hard to trade him. Not impossible," NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport explained about Lance during a Friday appearance on San Francisco sports radio station KNBR, per David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone. "Again, they've made calls. They've tried to do what they could do, but it's just hard to trade him."

Lance lost the San Francisco starting job to injury and to 2022 rookie sensation Brock Purdy, and the 2021 first-round draft pick was then beaten out by free-agency signing Sam Darnold for the primary backup gig. It was believed back in June that Lance had little value on the trade market even before he was relegated to third on the depth chart, and ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter reported Thursday that the 49ers are "not looking for very much" in return for the unproven 23-year-old. 

"They are exploring options," Rapoport added about how the 49ers are handling Lance's future. "They are trying. I don't know if anything's going to be able to happen."

Multiple in-the-know individuals have repeatedly linked Lance with the Minnesota Vikings, in part because 35-year-old Minnesota starting signal-caller Kirk Cousins is set to be out of contract after the upcoming season. Schefter said on Thursday that the 49ers' "perfect world" scenario would be to trade Lance before Tuesday's 4:00 p.m. ET roster cutdown deadline, but it's unclear if the Vikings or any other team will pull the trigger on a deal before the start of regular-season play. 

Lynch publicly insisted earlier this week the 49ers are "very happy with Trey" and said the club could stash three quarterbacks on the roster for the Week 1 game at the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 10. By most accounts, though, it seems Lynch is trying to find a new home for Lance to benefit both the 2023 49ers and a young quarterback who is now surplus to requirements with his current employer.