49ers are Trading Trey Lance to the Cowboys

The Trey Lance era with the San Francisco 49ers is officially over.

Lance is being traded to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a 2024 fourth-round pick, per Adam Schefter of ESPN. San Francisco will free up $3.8 million in salary cap space as a result of trading Lance.

Trade: 49ers are sending their former No. 3 overall pick Trey Lance to the Dallas Cowboys for a mid-round, per sources. Lance now gets a fresh start in Dallas. pic.twitter.com/UxKNpljktv
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 25, 2023

The writing was on the wall for Lance to be traded. As soon as the 49ers named Sam Darnold as the backup to starter Brock Purdy, it was only a matter of time for Lance to be sent out. This also means that the 49ers are okay with Brandon Allen as their No. 3 quarterback over a player who has known their offense for over two years. Quite an indictment on how they feel about Lance.

Either the 49ers really wanted to put his interests first, or they really didn't think he was a fit on the team anymore. Maybe it was a case of both. The 49ers had been clear that investing time and supporting the development of Lance was no longer in their interest. That is why they are rolling with Purdy as the starter since he is further along as a quarterback.

Lance always needed to play to get better and have the team live through the growing pains. The 49ers viewed those growing pains unfit for their 2023 goals. Now that Lance's tenure is over with the franchise, it is only natural to reflect on how badly the 49ers messed this up. They will have paid Lance $28.8 million, invested three first-round picks and 1 third round pick. And all they got was four starts out of him and a 4th-round pick in return.

Bravo Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch. You two did a tremendous job with Lance (sarcasm). Their quarterback evaluations will forever be in question and doubted unless Purdy proves to be the guy. Until then, they deserve all the criticism for how they mishandled Lance. And for their sake, they better hope they can continue to keep putting together winning seasons.