The 49ers traded Trey Lance to the Dallas Cowboys on Friday, keeping the third-year NFL quarterback in the NFC, though an AFC contender reportedly made an effort to acquire the former first-round draft pick.
The Buffalo Bills made an offer to the 49ers for Lance before San Francisco accepted Dallas' bid, The San Jose Mercury News' Cam Inman reported, citing a team source.
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The 49ers ultimately will acquire a fourth-round draft pick from the Cowboys for Lance, a source confirmed to NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco.
Considering the draft capital the 49ers traded in order to move up to select Lance No. 3 overall in 2021, receiving a Day 3 pick in return isn't ideal. But at this point, getting anything for Lance, who has barely played in two NFL seasons and lost the backup quarterback battle during training camp to Sam Darnold, is a win for San Francisco.
Lance's path to playing time in Dallas isn't clear, and the same could be said if he had been traded to Buffalo. Dak Prescott and Josh Allen are entrenched as starters for the Cowboys and Bills, respectively.
With the preseason wrapping up and the countdown to the NFL regular season underway, it was hard to find a team that could give Lance an opportunity to play right away. The Cowboys have three quarterbacks on their roster in Prescott, Cooper Rush and Will Grier, so it's unclear how Lance fits.
San Francisco 49ers
But at least two contending teams were willing to make offers for Lance, so clearly clubs valued him.
Now the 49ers can turn the page on Lance's disappointing tenure as they look ahead to Purdy's first full season as starting quarterback.