49ers GM offers first comments on Trey Lance trade

Feb 25, 2020; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch speaks during the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The San Francisco 49ers have officially ended the Trey Lance experiment.

The Niners traded the third-year quarterback to the Dallas Cowboys on Friday for a fourth-round pick. Two years ago, the 49ers swapped 2021 first-round picks with the Miami Dolphins and sent two first-round picks and a third-round pick in exchange for the right to move up to third overall for Lance.

Niners general manager John Lynch was asked about the trade with the Cowboys during during the broadcast for the preseason game between his 49ers and the Chargers on Friday. Lynch dubbed the entire Lance saga as a gamble that just did not pay off for San Francisco.

“We took a shot, and it didn’t work out. We own that. We take accountability for it,” said Lynch on the 49ers-Chargers broadcast, via Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk.

“I can tell everybody: It wasn’t for lack of effort on Trey’s part or on our part that it didn’t work. Circumstances took hold.”

The “circumstances” that Lynch referred to were the multiple injuries Lance had to overcome as well as the emergence of Brock Purdy last season. Even journeyman QB Sam Darnold — a former third-overall pick himself — beat out Lance for the backup QB job.

Lynch also hinted that the Cowboys “really wanted” Lance. In Dallas, Lance sits behind two veterans in Dak Prescott and Cooper Rush.

Lance on Wednesday was informed that he had lost the 49ers’ backup quarterback job. He was slated to play in their preseason contest against the Chargers on Friday before the trade with the Cowboys was announced.

Lance played just two games for the 49ers last year before suffering a season-ending ankle injury in Week 2 against the Seattle Seahawks.