Trey Lance, San Francisco 49ers
Trey Lance #5 of the San Francisco 49ers leaves the field after defeating the Houston Texans 23-7 at Levi's Stadium on January 02, 2022 in Santa Clara, California. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

KEY POINTS

  • Sources claim San Francisco 49ers front office have been open to trading Trey Lance
  • It is expected that they want a "pretty strong offer" in return
  • The 49ers can address holes in their depth chart by moving him

The San Francisco 49ers quarterback situation has been an unstable one since the days of Colin Kaepernick from 2013 to 2016, and a resolution does not appear to be coming on the horizon any time soon.

Jordan Schultz of theScore reported that an anonymous NFL general manager had revealed to him that 49ers general manager John Lynch had been "taking calls" on Trey Lance's availability, but maintained that he is not confident in him being dealt so easily.

"I know they've listened. [Trey] Lance is still young and on a rookie deal. He's pretty talented. [Sam] Darnold has tons of incentives in his deal and [Brock] Purdy has the elbow problem... I think it would take a pretty strong offer to get Lance," Schultz wrote.

Prior to Schultz's statement, NFL insider Ian Rapoport had confirmed that the only reason why such conversations have taken place is that the franchise was taking calls because "teams [are] aware that Brock Purdy is likely the future starter."

In the 2023 NFL season, veteran quarterback and Super Bowl winner Jimmy Garoppolo started 10 games after Lance became sidelined with a broken ankle in Week 2 against the Seattle Seahawks and was ruled out for the season.

However, Garoppolo would find himself on the shelf in Week 13 versus the Miami Dolphins after sustaining an injury to his foot, allowing rookie quarterback Brock Purdy to show up and show out–leading the 49ers to the NFC Championship Game.

Sources report that Purdy has already locked in the starting job for this season after

Trading Lance would be a dilemma of sorts for the 49ers since they gave up three first-round picks to move up in the 2021 draft to select him and Garoppolo has already left for the greener pastures of Las Vegas to join the Raiders.

In that same vein, though, trading him makes sense since he has not had many opportunities to play for the 49ers and entering his third season while only appearing in eight games thus far has other front offices considering a move for him.

The 49ers brought in Sam Darnold to replace Garoppolo, and his arrival might have San Francisco more open to potentially dealing him elsewhere.

What it will take to get him was not explicitly stated by Schultz, though it can be understood that they will be looking to address some of the holes on their depth chart which could either be a defensive end to help Nick Bosa, additional linebacker help, cornerback support along with some picks.

Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
Brock Purdy during a press conference. San Francisco 49ers/YouTube Screenshot