There has been an unhealthy dose of buzz about Trey Lance potentially being moved this offseason. The 49ers signed Sam Darnold and if Brock Purdy returns healthy after having his ulnar collateral ligament surgically repaired, there’s a scenario where Lance is third in the pecking order.
Per Adam Schefter of ESPN, that buzz was unsubstantiated. Schefter joined the Pat McAfee show on Wednesday to discuss the 49ers’ quarterback situation.
He said there weren’t offers on the table.
“There really was never a lot of interest in Trey Lance,” Schefter said. “For what they gave up and what they get back, which is not very much at all, it doesn’t make sense to trade him. 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. He’s there.”
Schefter also posited something that NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said during the draft, which is that Darnold could be, and probably is the favorite to be the No. 2:
Now, I will say this: Sam Darnold signed with the 49ers on the first day of free agency. And if there’s a player signing with the team on the first day, that tells you that the team really liked that guy. And they really did like Sam Darnold. He was looking at a couple of different options. He chose the 49ers.
But let’s also be very clear that Brock Purdy, if he’s healthy, he’s the guy on opening day. He’s the starting quarterback. He’s the number one. 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. But there’s a lot of preseason football left for those two guys to distinguish themselves.
Brock Purdy is the one, if healthy. And I think going into camp, Sam Darnold, I think, has the edge going into camp. But, by the way, Trey Lance could play great. He worked over the summer with [Chiefs QB Patrick] Mahomes, and I heard he’s made tremendous improvement. I’m anxious to see how much he’s improved and whether he can make that jump. Let’s see it.
Darnold signed a one-year, $4.5 million contract this offseason, while Lance remains on a rookie deal with a $9.3 million cap hit this year and a $10.85 million cap hit next year. Purdy, meanwhile, is on a minimum rookie contract for the next three seasons.
In sum, the 49ers have a quarterback room which will cost less than $15 million this season and three potential starters.
Listen to the full interview with Matt Maiocco discussing the quarterback situation above. You can listen to every KNBR interview on our podcast page at knbr.com/podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Catch Papa & Lund weekdays from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. on KNBR 104.5 / 680 and streaming live on KNBR.com.