The Dallas Cowboys are unlikely to get very active at the NFL trade deadline whether they want to be buyers or sellers. They don’t really operate like that.
However, if a team came calling for quarterback Trey Lance, they should consider themselves the luckiest team in the league.
After sending a fourth rounder for the former No. 3 overall pick last year, the Cowboys have seen enough from the young, high-upside, low-floor signal caller, as it didn’t take a full preseason for Cooper Rush to beat him for the backup job.
As of right now, Lance has been the emergency quarterback for the Cowboys, meaning he’s been inactive all season long. There are no signs of that changing anytime soon.
Having signed Dak Prescott to a $60 million per year contract, the Cowboys are highly likely to let Lance walk next season when he reaches free agency.
If a team comes calling offering a draft pick for the guy, it should be perceived as a major win. Even a sixth or seventh round pick could be a win.
Unfortunately, it truly doesn’t seem like anyone on the league would make that move. There’s just so many doubts about Lance’s gameday readiness. Consider the latest noteworthy quarterback move in the league.
The Las Vegas Raiders, who recently placed Aidan O’Connell on Injured Reserve with a broken thumb, opted to sign Desmond Ridder off of the Arizona Cardinals practice squad instead of making a move for Lance.
If a team was going to pull the trigger on the Cowboys’ third-string quarterback, it was always going to have to be a desperate team looking to replace an injured player. If the Raiders aren’t doing it, it just about confirms every suspicion about Lance not being attractive to NFL teams right now.
Here’s what Justin Churchill wrote about Trey Lance when discussing potential trades for the Raiders before the Ridder signing:
Now, (the Cowboys) don’t need (Lance), and we saw in their preseason games that there is still a ton of potential with Lance. He makes the occasional mistake, but he has little to no experience in the NFL.
The Raiders could take a swing on him and make him their starter if the Cowboys are willing to trade him away.
I think there has to be interest there from the Raiders, though, and everything we know about this team says that when you think they will do one thing, they do something completely opposite. So, this could not even come close to happening.
It’s an unfortunate reality for Lance. The upside is there and the vision is there, too. But what team would be willing to risk having the ugly turnovers and ugly mistakes for a pipe dream of making him work?
