Cowboys back-up Trey Lance tipped to be a future NFL starter by former 49ers teammate

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Expectations are through the roof when you’re selected third overall in an NFL Draft.

That was the weight that Trey Lance was carrying on his shoulders when he was taken off the board in the 2021 draft by the San Francisco 49ers.

The man who guided North Dakota State to a 2020 Division One football championship has yet to live up to the hype though in the NFL.

Lance only played six games during the 2021 season with the Niners, completing 57.7% of his passes as he was second fiddle to Jimmy Garoppolo throughout his inaugural campaign.

Kyle Shanahan named Lance the starter ahead of the 2022 campaign with the expectations being that he could take this team back to the promised land, with San Fran losing in the NFC Championship Game the season prior.

Unfortunately for Lance, his debut campaign as a starting QB was cut short when he injured his ankle in Week 2 versus the Seattle Seahawks last year, as he would not play again in the regular season.

Mr Irrelevant, aka Brock Purdy, then came into the picture and lit up the NFL, leading to Lance being traded away to the Dallas Cowboys for a fourth-round pick earlier this year in the hopes of rejuvenating his career.

Mike McCarthy has yet to use him in Dallas, but according to one of Lance’s ex-teammates in San Fran, there’s still hope for the 23-year-old to resurrect his career.

Waiting for his shot

Trent Williams, a 10-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle, believes it’s only a matter of time before Lance gets another shot.

“I don’t have a crystal ball, but I think in this league when you do the right things, and you’re made of the right stuff; eventually opportunity will find its way back to you,” Williams told Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area.

He added, “I think that will happen in Trey’s case. And when it does, we’ll all see the talent everybody knows that’s inside of him.”

In just eight NFL games, Lance has decent numbers, throwing for 797 yards and five scores, though his passer rating of 54.9 will need to improve if he wants to be an NFL starter full-time.

Lance caught the attention of NFL scouts at North Dakota State, particularly in 2019 when he threw 28 TD passes without a single interception, and that’s the guy he needs to be if he wants to earn full-time reps in Dallas or elsewhere.

He’s got a quick release, is excellent at selling fakes and has terrific athletic and physical skills that likely didn’t go away just because of his injury woes.

Dak Prescott’s contract expires in 2024, meaning the starting quarterback position could soon be up for grabs.

For the moment, Lance is third on the Cowboys depth chart behind Prescott and Cooper Rush, but this Bison alumnus could get his shot at some point.

This is an unpredictable league; who’d have thought a year ago that Brock Purdy would be the toast of the NFL, going from the last overall pick to probably the leading candidate for MVP this season?

That’s how quickly things can change.