Trey Lance, the former No. 3 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, will hit the open market this offseason.
The 49ers drafted Lance almost four years ago, and after two seasons in San Francisco, he was traded to the Dallas Cowboys before the 2023 NFL season, where he spent two campaigns as the third-string quarterback behind starter Dak Prescott and backup Cooper Rush.
Now it appears his tenure in Dallas is over, after Cowboys CEO Stephen Jones told The Dallas Morning News that the team expects Lance, an unrestricted free agent, to depart this offseason.
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"We took a shot a Trey and wanted to do that," Jones told The Dallas Morning News. "We think the world of Trey. But us having Dak [Prescott] signed up for the long-term, I think he's probably going to be looking for something different."
Jones added that the Cowboys will look to add another young quarterback in the upcoming draft this spring.
"You know, I think one of our goals is to get a young quarterback in the draft," Jones shared. "I don't know where that's going to be.
"That's why we gave a [fourth-round pick] for Trey. It seems like all the quarterbacks, even guys we have in the fourth round, go in the first. They always go so much higher than what you think."
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Lance appeared in four regular-season games and made one start with Dallas, all in 2024, and completed 25 of 41 passes for 266 yards and one interception while recording 11 rushes for 41 yards on the ground.
Once a top draft pick and initially believed to be the 49ers' future franchise quarterback, Lance's NFL career up to this point has not gone according to plan.
However, as an unrestricted free agent, he now can choose his next destination.