Why the 49ers Won't Trade Trey Lance Anytime Soon

Now is not the time for the 49ers to be giving up a quarterback who already is entrenched into the playbook.

Fitting Trey Lance into the long-term plans is no longer a priority for the 49ers.

That much was evident from the moment Brock Purdy, who despite being on the mend from elbow surgery, was named as the starter. On top of that, Lance now has to battle for the backup spot and temporary starting role with Sam Darnold. A lot is stacked against Lance who finds himself in an adversarial position.

With all of that, it's clear that the 49ers do not care who their quarterback is. All that matters to them is if the quarterback is healthy and can run the offense effectively. Draft status doesn't matter anymore, which makes Lance expendable. That is why there is the possibility of him being traded. If the 49ers view him to be too far along, then they might just send him packing somewhere and recoup some draft picks, especially with others looking better.

However, the 49ers won't trade Lance, at least not anytime soon. 

The primetime chance that Lance would be traded would be the NFL draft in a little less than two weeks from now. It makes ZERO sense to trade Lance leading up to the draft, on the draft, or anytime after that. Now is not the time for the 49ers to be giving up a quarterback who already is entrenched into the playbook. What they need is stability and trading Lance away doesn't help that.

Even if the 49ers do end up drafting a quarterback, which I would think is most likely going to occur, the 49ers still cannot trade him. Lance is the only active quarterback who can run the offense fully. Darnold is sure to still be getting his feet sunk into it all, while a rookie will need some time to be cemented in it. Not to mention that the 49ers still need to see what they have in Lance and where he is at post ankle injury. They're at least willing to see through it in OTAs, training camp, and the preseason.

In a way, Purdy being unable to practice is a blessing in disguise for the 49ers because now they can actually allocate adequate reps to Lance. That would not have been the case before. And speaking of Purdy, he just recently mentioned that "he's not really sure" if he will play in 2023. So to weaken the quarterback room by trading Lance with the next three months still up in the air with Purdy would be malpractice. Besides, it is not like Lance has value right now. I don't see how any team could give up anything more than a third round pick, and I think even that is a stretch.

Trading Lance is something I can see in the future, but it makes no sense for the 49ers to do so right now.