At this year’s Scouting Combine, there were rumors of a potential Kirk Cousins trade from Minnesota to San Francisco. Those rumors may have come from the reality that the 49ers and Vikings had discussions about another quarterback.
Per a league source, the two teams talked about Trey Lance.
The source doesn’t know whether that’s currently happening. The Vikings have since restructured the Cousins contract. They’d take a significant cap hit ($38 million) if the Vikings trade Cousins before June 1.
But the Vikings need an answer for 2024, and beyond. It’s unclear whether they truly think Lance could be the answer.
The problem is that Lance hasn’t played much football over the past three years. His 2020 season was severely limited due to the pandemic. In 2021, he barely played at all -- despite a preseason belief he’d be used extensively in Taysom Hill-style package. In 2022, Lance became the full-time starter, before suffering a season-ending ankle injury in Week Two.
It’s now obvious that the 49ers are looking to move on. Previously, G.M. John Lynch didn’t close the door on a trade. More recently, the report that the 49ers are “fielding” calls (the truth could be that they’re initiating them) has one practical impact -- it gets the word out that Lance is in play.
He needs a fresh start. The real question is how much will the 49ers want for him? They overvalued Jimmy Garoppolo, which made it impossible to trade him. Will the 49ers look to save a little face, given the huge investment they made to get Lance (three first-round picks and a third-round selection)? Or will they take any criticism in stride, pointing out that they also got their current starter, Brock Purdy, with the last pick in the 2022 draft?
Regardless, Lance is available. Whether it’s the Vikings or someone else (like the Titans or the Texans), Lance could have a new home for 2023. For his sake, he needs one.