It won’t be as sweet to be third now.
Lance, the No. 3 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, has fallen out of favor entirely with the 49ers, who will likely list him as the third player on the team’s quarterback depth chart behind Brock Purdy and Sam Darnold, Adam Schefter said on “The Pat McAfee Show.”
“There was no trade market and Kyle Shanahan has said that they didn’t have any trade talks with teams. He’s not going anywhere right now,” Schefter said about Lance.
“Sam Darnold signed with the 49ers on the first day of free agency … that tells you that the team really liked that guy, and they really did like Sam Darnold. Let’s also be very clear that Brock Purdy, if he’s healthy, he’s the guy, he’s the starting quarterback, he’s the No. 1. If he’s not, if for some reason he can’t go, we’ll see how Darnold and Trey Lance do in camp this summer. My guess would be Darnold has a chance to really shine and excel.”
Lance has started four games at quarterback over two years, totaling 797 yards in the air and 235 yards on the ground.
Last year, Lance was given the starting role over Jimmy Garoppolo but a season-ending ankle injury sidelined him, ultimately clearing the way for Brock Purdy to emerge as a breakout star who helped lead San Francisco to a 12-game win streak on its way to the conference championship.
Purdy was 5-0 in games started during the regular season, admirably replacing an injured Garropolo as he threw for 1,374 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Darnold, a former first-round pick with the Jets, was traded to the Carolina Panthers in 2021 for three draft picks.
He started six games for Carolina last year and tossed seven touchdowns and three interceptions.
Now, it appears Lance is stuck on the outside looking in.
