When Trey Lance was traded from the San Francisco 49ers to the Dallas Cowboys ahead of the 2023 NFL season, there was reason to believe he'd get a fresh start in a new situation. He'd get an opportunity to learn from Dak Prescott, a proven, veteran quarterback, and potentially get a chance to prove himself sometime down the line.
Well, that opportunity never really came. Lance did not receive a single snap in 2023, and made four appearances (one start) in 2024. Not only did the Cowboys hand Prescott a massive extension to keep him in town for the foreseeable future, but they had Lance sitting behind Cooper Rush, limiting his chances to play. Even with the team out of contention when Prescott suffered his season-ending injury this past season, the Cowboys wound up playing Rush over Lance.
Why the Cowboys traded a fairly valuable fourth-round pick for a player they clearly never fully intended to use is a question only really Jerry Jones can answer, even if he doesn't want to.
Now, Lance is a free agent, and it's anyone's best guess as to what his future holds. According to TSN's Dave Naylor, the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL have reportedly added Lance to their Negotiation List. Wouldn't that be something?
The Roughriders have reportedly added QB Trey Lance to their Negotiation List, per @TSNDaveNaylor. #CFL pic.twitter.com/kvZhXADxxg
— CFL (@CFL) March 26, 2025
Trey Lance's next stop could be the CFL
Lance being added to the Negotiation List does not mean it's certain that he'll make the transition to the CFL, but it's not as if he has had much of an NFL market. Given this revelation, it would not be surprising at all to see Lance make that move if he cannot find an NFL home.
If this move does transpire, it would be quite the fall from grace. Lance was not only selected with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, but the San Francisco 49ers traded a haul to select him. You'd think if a brilliant offensive mind like Kyle Shanahan felt excited enough about Lance to trade what the Niners did to get that deal done, that Lance would, at the very least, still be starting in a 49ers uniform today.
Not only did Lance flame out in San Francisco, but his replacement was Brock Purdy, a player dubbed as "Mr. Irrelevant," being the last selection of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Lance going from being as highly touted as he was, to losing his job to a seventh-round pick, to not playing any sort of role in Dallas, to then going to the CFL all in a matter of less than a half-decade would be a shocking, yet now totally conceivable outcome. It would truly be Lance's rock bottom to this point.