The Cowboys are expected to let Trey Lance walk this offseason, which makes his trade from the 49ers look even more brutal for Dallas.
While the San Francisco 49ers can still cringe about using oh-so much capital to select quarterback Trey Lance at No. 3 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, at least they can admit they moved on at the moment they realized he wasn't it.
In fact, the bulk of the 2021 quarterbacking draft class went bust with all but one of the first-round signal-callers (Trevor Lawrence of the Jacksonville Jaguars) not playing out their rookie contracts with the respective teams that drafted them.
Turns out, the Niners got the best return out of all those quarterbacks who were ultimately moved, sending Lance off to the Dallas Cowboys for a fourth-round pick in the 2024 draft after the former North Dakota State standout failed to win a roster spot entering the 2023 season.
San Francisco then turned that pick, No. 124 overall, into safety Malik Mustapha, who was an exceptional standout his rookie season.
Mustapha helped the 49ers get over their own Lance debacle, but Dallas is still being laughed at for trying to make things work with the quarterback over the last two seasons.
After two failed years, it seems the Cowboys finally learned the lesson the Niners learned, previously.
Cowboys plan to let Trey Lance go this offseason
Lance never came close to challenging Dallas' starter, Dak Prescott, as a potential long-term replacement. And the former couldn't even beat out Prescott's primary backup, Cooper Rush, for the No. 2 spot on the depth chart.
Even after Prescott suffered an injury late in 2024, it was Rush who was given the reins under center instead of Lance.
So, not surprisingly, owner and general manager Jerry Jones told reporters at the 2025 NFL Combine his team plans on drafting a quarterback this spring to support Prescott, which likely means the end of Lance's tenure in Dallas as he hits free agency.
Lance appeared in four games for the Cowboys last season, starting one of them, Dallas' regular-season finale against the Washington Commanders.
That marked the lone start the former No. 3 overall pick ever made for the Cowboys, three fewer than what he experienced during his two-year stint in the Bay Area.
A failed trade from Dallas' perspective, yes. At least San Francisco somewhat salvaged things by landing Mustapha.
As for Lance, his future is far from clear. Perhaps there's a team willing to take a flier on his still-youthful upside, potentially as a developmental type whose ceiling might be a modest No. 2 on a lacking depth chart.
But that's about it, at best.