San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan said they want to keep quarterback Trey Lance on the team's roster. However, if the right opportunity were to present itself—for Lance and the 49ers—Lynch and Shanahan would consider it.
So basically, the Niners hope to keep Lance but are reminding other interested teams that they know how to get a hold of them.
RELATED Lynch breaks down how Lance handled 49ers' QB decision
What happens next with the third-year quarterback, who the 49ers traded away a draft haul to acquire? On Thursday morning, one NFL insider weighed in.
"I think what happens is the 49ers look to see if they can find a home for him," Adam Schefter said on ESPN's Get Up. "And they're not looking for very much. They honestly, truly would like to put him in a situation where he can shine, where he can excel, because they do believe that he's made improvements.
"But it's just that they're going with Brock Purdy, and they like Sam Darnold, and they like Brandon Allen. And so they're looking to put Trey Lance, essentially, up for adoption. Who wants to adopt him and put him in a nice home where they're going to raise him the right way, where he's going to get some work?
"... [S]ince he's been recruited out of high school, I think he's thrown about 475 passes in games. He has gotten next to no work. He has not had the time nor the opportunity to develop the way that he should through the fault of nobody. And so the 49ers are open to trading him, and they will look to trade him in the next week to somebody that will take him in, and give him a nice home, and give him an opportunity.
"And if it doesn't happen, then they'll keep him around there, and continue to grow and nurture him there. But I think, in a perfect world, they look to trade him by Tuesday's 04:00 P.M. Eastern roster cutdown deadline."
Lance has started only four games since the 49ers made him the No. 3 overall pick. He was injured for the first two, played in monsoon-like conditions for the third, and suffered a season-ending ankle injury during the fourth.
Lance entered an offseason competition with Darnold for the QB2 job behind Purdy. On Wednesday morning, Shanahan informed Lance that Darnold had won that battle.
Will Lance be on the 49ers' roster when the team visits the Pittsburgh Steelers for Week 1 on September 10?
"I think that's the most likely option," general manager John Lynch responded during a radio interview on Thursday morning. "As I said, we're very happy with Trey. That's probably the most likely option, is that he's here. If we could find a landing spot for Trey, that is a really good one for him and works for our organization, that's not something we turn a blind eye to."
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