John Lynch addresses Trey Lance’s 49ers future after QB news

There does not appear to be a vibrant trade market for Trey Lance, whom 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan informed on Wednesday had lost the competition to be the team's backup quarterback. And the 49ers gain no salary-cap benefit from releasing him. The four-year, $34.1 million contract he signed as the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft is fully guaranteed. General manager John Lynch on Thursday made his first public comments since Lance was absent from 49ers practice nearly 24 hours earlier. Lynch said he believes Lance will come back to the team and stay for the regular season. "We're very happy with Trey," Lynch said on his KNBR radio segment. "That's probably the most likely option, that he's here." Understandably, Lance does not have much of a trade market. At 23, Lance is completely unproven with only one season as a starter at North Dakota State and never playing even a quarter of the snaps in consecutive games at the NFL level. If the quarterback-friendly 49ers are willing to move on after making such a huge investment to draft him, then that is not exactly a leverage point to seek suitable compensation in return. Clearly, however, the phone lines are open. "If we could...