Jerry Jones’ active sabotage of Cowboys continues with latest Trey Lance comment

The future of the Dallas Cowboys looks murky. Beyond the 2024 season, the Cowboys could lose their head coach, quarterback and All-Pro wide receiver.

While wide receiver CeeDee Lamb is continuing his holdout, quarterback Dak Prescott seems to have come to terms with the fact that he will not receive a contract extension before the regular season begins, which likely means the 2024 season will be his last with the Cowboys.

With the possibility of Prescott's departure, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones decided it would be a good idea to use the team's preseason finale against the Los Angeles Chargers to get a good look at backup quarterback Trey Lance.

Lance's audition didn't go as well as he may have hoped. The third-string quarterback threw five interceptions, including one on the final play of the game at the Los Angeles goal line. Miraculously, the Cowboys only lost 26-19.

Jerry Jones is adamant about wasting a roster spot on Trey Lance

Before the game, Jones "emphatically" stated that Lance had already earned a roster spot, according to Cowboys reporter Clarence Hill Jr. Lance's performance would cause any reasonable person to reconsider that position. Jones, however, doesn't seem bothered by the performance.

"[Lance] will be on the roster," Jones told reporters after the loss, according to Cowboys reporter Nick Harris.

Lance was selected with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers, and it didn't take them long to regret the pick. Lance barely had any starting experience prior to the NFL, and he was viewed as a raw prospect who needed plenty of time to develop. The development didn't happen, and the Niners offloaded Lance to the Cowboys in exchange for a fourth-round pick.

Jones is well-known for the Herschel Walker trade which sparked the Cowboys dynasty, but that hasn't made him immune to making poor trades. So far, it seems that Dallas burned a valuable fourth-round pick for nothing in return from Lance. The 24-year-old quarterback currently sits third on the Cowboys depth chart behind Prescott and Cooper Rush, and he's taking up a roster spot that could be used for a player who may actually see the field in a playoff game.

The Cowboys declined the fifth-year option for Lance, who is set to enter the final year of his rookie contract. Like Prescott, he will hit free agency next offseason. It would make sense to trade the quarterback — or even release him — to save the roster spot, especially after he displayed that he's still not ready to play after three seasons in the league.

If Prescott happens to leave in free agency, the Cowboys have no viable replacement on their roster. Unlike the Green Bay Packers, who developed Aaron Rodgers to replace Brett Favre and Jordan Love to replace Rodgers, the Cowboys organization tends to wait until the last moment to figure things out.