Tom Pelissero shook up 49erslandia on Wednesday when he reported that Sam Darnold has been picked to be San Francisco’s QB2 entering Week 1 to backup Brock Purdy.
Less than an hour after Pelissero's report, Trey Lance was noticeably absent from practice, stirring up the trade rumors to another level.
Pelissero joined 95.7 The Game’s “Willard & Dibs” Wednesday to give more insight to his report and Lance’s situation going forward, as it appears the former No. 3 pick will be shopped around the league.
“I think the most logical option at this point would be finding a trade partner for Trey Lance,” Pelissero told hosts Mark Willard and Dan Dibley. “There’s a lot of different factors that go into this. But for Trey, everybody there in San Francisco and that 49ers organization, they like Trey as a person. They like the work ethic, how he approaches things. He does pick things up quickly. It’s just not come together in the way that anybody there envisioned. Quite frankly, the 49ers are in a position right now where you got a championship-caliber roster and trying to develop a quarterback in the middle of it, is probably not something really that they’re cut out to do right now.”
So, which team could Lance end up with in a trade?
“The No. 1 is the Vikings,” Pelissero said. “Not just because Trey Lance is from Minnesota and he’s got family there and he went to North Dakota State, which isn’t far away. But also Kirk Cousins is in a contract year. The Vikings, even though they remade that roster as far as the offseason, and a lot of those veteran names are gone, they still went 13-4 last year. They’ve got Justin Jefferson and they’ve got Cousins and they’ve got Danielle Hunter, they brought back Harrison Smith. They’re not gonna win 2 games this year. They’re not gonna be in the top of the draft to go get (North Carolina’s) Drake Maye or (USC’s) Caleb Williams.”
Cousins is undisputed QB1 in Minnesota right now, but Pelissero thinks Lance could be a backup along with former 49ers QB Nick Mullens, while pushing out current Vikings QB3 and seventh-round pick Jaren Hall. Perhaps Lance can be groomed to be Cousins' successor if the veteran ends up leaving after this season.
“Trey Lance is a first-round talent,” Pelissero said. “He went No. 3 overall, that wasn’t by accident. This is a buy-low situation to bring him in and have him slot as the third guy on the depth chart, let him run the scout team and get him with the really good coaches they got up there. It would make some sense. I’m sure there’s other teams as well, but if you’re asking me the teams that make sense, (the Vikings) would be No. 1 on the list.”
The NFL has a host of roster changes this season. Instead of having three cut-down days throughout training camp to get to a 53-man roster, all 32 teams will cut down to size next Tuesday, creating a free agent frenzy before Week 1.
Pelissero said he expects Lance to get dealt in the next six days if the 49ers find a suitable return package.
“You wouldn’t wanna hold him past next Tuesday and then try to make a deal,” Pelissero said. “Then you’re cutting somebody else to keep him on a temporary basis. I think also it’s they’ve seen enough now throughout the course of camp that they know they’re gonna keep Sam and Brandon (Allen) on the roster in addition to Brock. So Trey’s sort of the odd-man out there.”
At least publicly, Lance has kept a smile on his face and stayed positive about the situation, even though he’s only had five quarters to really prove himself before suffering a season-ending foot/ankle injury last year in Week 2. According to Pelissero, there’s no bad blood between the two sides despite Lance’s absence in practice today.
“Everyone knew,” Lance said. “Everyone was on board with Trey not being there today. I don’t think it’s an issue with the relationship. Trey is not that type of guy. I’m sure he’s disappointed and frustrated and all those things, but this is not a ‘bleep you’ kinda situation or anything that I understand.”
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