Cowboys’ Mike McCarthy Describes First Impression of Trey Lance With Brilliant Movie Reference

The Cowboys unexpectedly traded for former 49ers No. 3 pick Trey Lance last week. The deal marked the culmination of a failed era for the signal caller in San Francisco, who was long thought to be the team’s future franchise quarterback before injuries derailed those plans.

Lance will be the backup to Dak Prescott in Dallas, and a fresh start to his career should serve him well as he continues to develop. Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy has been impressed with Lance’s work ethic in his short time with the team, eliciting an obscure movie reference in the process.

“Very hard working,” McCarthy said of Lance on Thursday morning. “We have a quarterback meeting room area. He’s pretty much kind of taken it over. The grease boards look like ‘[A] Beautiful Mind.’ …We just need to work on the extra things, particularly in the area of footwork.”

Nobody has ever doubted Lance’s work ethic, as he was described as a tireless worker during his time in San Francisco. Unfortunately for Lance, injuries have piled up that have stunted his development, and getting Wally Pipp’d while he was out at the hands of seventh-round pick Brock Purdy was simply bad luck for the former top prospect.

Now Lance will try to take what he’s learned in his two short seasons as a professional and try to take the next step in his development in Dallas.