49ers get yet more evidence they made the right call with Trey Lance after Cowboys' latest decision

Over three years on from his selection by the San Francisco 49ers, there’s likely very little thought inside the organisation being given to the fortunes of Trey Lance.

The Niners declared Lance a sink cost last year when they dealt the man they traded three first-round picks to acquire to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a fourth-round pick.

Since then the 49ers have seen Brock Purdy justify their decision to make him their franchise quarterback with a spectacular season that saw San Francisco go within one play of winning the Super Bowl.And, with that fourth-round pick spent on a highly rated safety in Malik Mustapha, the Lance story from the Niners’ perspective is over.

But they can feel a greater sense of vindication of the move to trade Lance following a recent ESPN report that the Cowboys will not be picking up Lance’s fifth-year option.

It’s not exactly surprising news. Lance has not played a game for the Cowboys and his 2025 salary had the option been picked up would have been $22.4 million fully guaranteed.

But it sends a clear signal that Lance has been internally evaluated by the Cowboys and, like the 49ers, they too have decided he should not be a part of their future.

The 49ers certainly won’t celebrate Lance’s misfortune in likely having to move on from another team next offseason and general manager John Lynch said of the former third overall pick prior to this year’s draft. "Trey Lance's story hasn't been written yet. He's in Dallas right now and I still think Trey's got good football in him. We'll see. That will play out. 

"But I think also the freedom when you've done something, and you feel like maybe it can improve us to move on, we aren't beholden to, well we drafted the guy, we've just got to stick it out. We can do the things we want to do. And I think that's served us well, and people can comment on the thought process that went into it. We certainly study it, say what went right, what went wrong, and we do that with all our picks. But I think we're in a real good place as a football team, as an organization, and we've got to find a way to get a little bit better."

The Niners look to have got a little bit better by landing a player they believe can quickly become a contributor on defense out of the deal to trade Lance, who appears a strong bet to end his Cowboys career without featuring in a regular-season game.

In isolation, that is a win for the Niners. While they would love to get those three first-rounders back, the 49ers can be happy with how things have played out since they decided developing Lance was no longer a project worth pursuing.