The San Francisco 49ers were reportedly “listening” to trade inquiries for quarterback Trey Lance.
San Francisco general manager John Lynch emphasized that “listening” is a far cry from actively shopping the third-year player. Lynch said the team isn’t actively trying to trade Lance.
“It hasn’t been extremely active, and it’s not like we’ve put it out there that, ‘Hey, we’re taking offers for Trey, call 1-800 to,’ that’s not been the process,” Lynch told reporters last week. “People’s job in this is to ask questions. Has that happened on a couple occasions? Sure. It hasn’t been that substantive and like I said, we’re focused as is Trey on his ability to compete and play an integral role on this team.”
The inquiries started after Brock Purdy’s emergence during the late stages of the regular season and into the playoffs last season.
Purdy, the final pick (No. 262) of the 2022 NFL draft, was thrust into the starting quarterback position following season-ending injuries to Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo. He led the 49ers to five consecutive wins as the starter to close out the regular season. He completed 114 of 170 passes for 1,374 yards with 13 touchdown passes and four interceptions while completing 67 percent of his pass attempts. He led the 49ers to playoff wins over Seattle and Dallas before losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship game.
Purdy suffered an elbow injury early in the championship game, and following surgery, he’s not expected to begin throwing until June at the earliest, just a few weeks before training camp opens. If the 49ers trade Lance, that could leave the well-traveled Sam Darnold as QB1 when training camp begins.
The 49ers gave up plenty to the Miami Dolphins to acquire the No. 3 pick to select Lance in the 2021 NFL draft. While Purdy is the presumed starter once he gets healthy, Lynch, who said this week that Lance is fully healthy, plans to have Lance in a 49ers uniform in 2023.
“I expect Trey to be here and we’re excited about Trey’s ability to compete and what he can do for our franchise just as we were when we drafted Trey,” he said. “We’ll see when we get an opportunity to get out there on the field with him, but we have every reason to be encouraged as well.”
San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan said the team is looking to bring in a fourth quarterback during the offseason.
“We’d love to get a fourth guy here. We’ll see which one it is,” Shanahan told reporters Saturday. “But we’ll be all right, though, in the offseason when we get to training camp. Hopefully, we’ll get Brock back soon. But regardless, we’d love a fourth guy here.”
