Trey Lance trade: Lynch explains why 49ers gave up on QB

SANTA CLARA — The 49ers on Friday gave up on quarterback Trey Lance without him ever getting much of an opportunity. The 49ers burned three first-round selections over three years and a third-round pick to trade in order to select him. Lance, 23, still has two years remaining on his contract. In other words, there is still plenty of time for Lance to pay dividends. After all, the quarterback who opened last season at No. 3 on the depth chart is now the unquestioned starter. So why give up on Lance now? "It's a fair question and it's something we talked a lot about internally," 49ers general manager John Lynch said Friday night, hours after the club traded Lance to the Dallas Cowboys for a fourth-round draft pick. Brock Purdy is the starter. Sam Darnold beat out Lance as the backup. Lance sought a fresh start, and the sides collaborated on finding him a new home. Those two players will get virtually all of the practice snaps during the season, so there might not have been much opportunity for Lance to improve, Lynch said. "He needs to play to get better," Lynch said. "And I think that's going to be his opportunity. Play, I mean, ideally games. But play is running scout team, play...