Is Cowboys QB Trey Lance destined to be a draft bust?

The Dallas Cowboys finished the preseason on Saturday in a loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, 26-19. Former No. 3 overall pick Trey Lance had QB1 duties for Dallas, throwing one touchdown and five interceptions. On the bright side, Lance did rush for 90 yards and a TD.

Lance is entering his second season as a Cowboys backup quarterback after being traded from San Francisco last offseason. In 2023, Lance stood on the sideline knowing he’d likely see little to no action on the field during the regular season.

Here we are again, one year later, and Lance will play behind Dak Prescott, who started all 17 Cowboys games in 2023. The only time on the field Lance is likely to get is what we’ve seen in the preseason.

If Saturday’s loss to the Chargers is indicative of Lance’s growth, then fans should be hoping he remains third on the depth chart. Despite a horrific close to the preseason, Lance has improved overall in the eyes of some. Most importantly, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was still in his corner.

“Do I need to see anymore from Trey Lance? Can we stop there? And the answer is yes. Yes. He’s going to be on the 53,” Jones said on Lance’s future in Dallas, via Todd Archer of ESPN.

Lance’s NFL career has been nothing to brag about since entering the league in 2021 with the 49ers. It’s barely even gotten off the ground as he’s only appeared in six games and started four in his first three years in the league. All those games were with the 49ers.

While there isn’t a ton of NFL game film on Lance, what we have seen, whether regular or preseason, is that there hasn’t been a level of consistency you’d expect from such a high draft pick. Lance has shown flashes, but not nearly enough to prevent rumblings of applying a certain label.

That label is a bust. Lance hasn’t had enough opportunities yet to be officially labeled a bust, but he could be getting very close to that. Saturday’s outing against the Chargers didn’t help his cause.

Although it is the preseason, five interceptions in a scrimmage would raise eyebrows. There’s also the train of thought that the Niners gave up on Lance for a reason. The emergence of Brock Purdy is one, but San Francisco also gave up three first-round picks to acquire Lance in the 2021 draft.

Now, Jones thinks he and the Cowboys coaching staff can pick up the pieces and salvage something from Lance’s career. Prescott is entering the final year of his current contract without an extension in place and it’s always felt like Jones brought Lance in as a safety net.

Sure, Lance can play a similar style to Prescott, but he has not shown any resemblance of doing it at the same consistency or level. Say what you want about Prescott’s playoff failures, but he’s been a good QB and one of the best in the regular season overall during his tenure.

Dallas may end up taking a total loss in the Lance trade if it can’t get anything out of him. And the career many thought Lance could have in the NFL seems like it may never come to fruition.