Trey Lance didn't show much during Sunday's preseason loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. That has prompted many to question whether the quarterback has a future with the San Francisco 49ers. Lance has been competing with Sam Darnold for the QB2 job. Now, some wonder if he is even in the running anymore.
Two NFL analysts spoke about the situation this week, with the first being very critical of the 49ers' move to acquire Lance. San Francisco surrendered the No. 12 overall pick in 2021, first-round picks in 2022 and 2023, and a third-round pick in 2022 to the Miami Dolphins for the No. 3 overall pick.
That's quite a haul to give up for one player.
"Look, they got a terrible situation on their hands with this Trey Lance," NFL analyst Marcus Spears said during ESPN's "First Take" on Monday. "... This may go down as one of the worst trades in the draft in the history of the NFL. The fortunate part is Kyle Shanahan has done such a phenomenal job of getting this team ready to play and being so creative offensively that it hasn't shown in the win-loss column. But you lost a lot by going up [to] get Trey Lance."
Spears believes the smarter move would have been for the 49ers to draft Justin Fields as their franchise quarterback.
"This may go down as one of the worst trades in the draft in the history of the NFL."
—@mspears96 on Trey Lance and the 49ers 😳 pic.twitter.com/ZTyzjwqUGw
— First Take (@FirstTake) August 14, 2023
A second analyst, former NFL executive Michael Lombardi, harshly criticized Lance personally, saying the following on his podcast, "The GM Shuffle."
"As you go down this road with Lance, it just becomes harder and harder and harder," Lombardi said. "And you could show all the clips of him moving and all that stuff. At the end of the day, when his momma lifted him from the crib, he just didn't have that quarterback instinct."
Lombardi notes that the 49ers might have a tough decision regarding Lance, especially if he isn't showing enough to land the QB2 job and no other teams are showing interest in the third-year player.
He added, "He is not going to be the backup quarterback. I don't know what they're going to do with him. But there's no chance. There is no chance based on the evidence that I've seen and based on what I've heard."
The reality of Trey Lance: if a play doesn't goes the way he practiced, it breaks down. When his mom lifted him up from the crib, he didn't have that QB instinct. He won't win the backup QB spot based on what I've seen and heard.
Check out #GMShuffle at https://t.co/b4sYN4CC91 pic.twitter.com/SsDEIyqzJq
— Michael Lombardi (@mlombardiNFL) August 15, 2023
With one preseason game in the books, Lance will have two more opportunities to prove himself before the start of the regular season. The 49ers will host the Denver Broncos on Saturday before closing out their exhibition schedule against the Las Angeles Chargers.
The 49ers haven't been too concerned with outside perception. While the team gave up a lot to get Lance, it also found its starting quarterback, Brock Purdy, with 2022's last overall pick. Purdy, recovering from offseason surgery to repair the torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow, is on track to be San Francisco's Week 1 starter.