For all anyone knows, quarterback Trey Lance had fallen not to third-string but to fourth position on the San Francisco depth chart. For all anyone knows, the 49ers would have cut Lance in lieu of releasing Brandon Allen and risking losing him.
For all anyone knows, the 49ers would have gotten nothing for Lance, if that had happened.
As we all now know, the Cowboys peeled off a fourth-round pick in order to land Lance. Dallas also happily absorbed the balance of his rookie contract, a total of $6.25 million fully guaranteed through 2024.
The 49ers just might have pulled one over on the team they’ve beaten each of the past two postseasons, getting value for a player they would have otherwise waived. And while that barely begins to balance out the major investment the 49ers made in the hopes of landing a franchise quarterback, a fourth-round pick is better than nothing at all.
And so the 49ers will proceed with Brock Purdy, Sam Darnold, and Allen on the depth chart. They might add another quarterback to the practice squad, since they’ve learned the hard way that a team can never have too many quarterbacks around.
They now have one less. The guy who was supposed to be the savior. The guy who faced an unfairly enormous amount of pressure and ridiculously unrealistic expectations, given that the 49ers opted not to let the board play out in 2021 but to add two first-round picks and a third-round selection to pick No. 12 in order to move up to No. 3.
Again, at least they got something for Lance — especially if, truth be told, they were ready to discard him on Tuesday for nothing at all.