Report: San Francisco 49ers have been shopping Trey Lance for much of offseason, had ‘serious conversations’ with Minnesota Vikings

With Sam Darnold winning the backup quarterback job for the San Francisco 49ers, it appears as though Trey Lance’s time with the organization is coming to an end.

It seems like the writing has been on the wall for a while, as the 49ers have reportedly been trying to trade the young signal-caller for much of the offseason.

In fact, the 49ers apparently had “serious conversations” with the Minnesota Vikings about a Lance trade. Obviously, a deal never materialized.

Lance will likely end his 49ers tenure having played in just eight regular season games after being selected with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. He’s completed only 54.9 percent of his passes for 797 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions in his career. The 23-year-old has also carried the ball 54 times for 235 yards and one score.

The North Dakota State University product was set to lead the 49ers through all of last season as their starting quarterback, but he suffered a gruesome ankle injury early on in Week 2 against the Seattle Seahawks that forced him to miss the rest of the season.

Brock Purdy remains the team’s starting quarterback after bursting onto the scene last season as a seventh-round rookie. Lance and Darnold were battling it out for the right to back Purdy up. During the 2023 preseason, Lance has completed 66.7 percent of his passes for 285 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

He’s had some good moments, but he’s also had his fair share of struggles.

The Vikings are an intriguing spot for Lance, though it doesn’t appear as though they really have a need for him. Kirk Cousins is entrenched as the starter there, while Nick Mullens is back for a second season as his backup. The team also recently selected rookie Jaren Hall from Brigham Young University in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

It’ll be interesting to see what takes place as the regular season gets closer and closer and teams start to finalize their 53-man rosters.

Perhaps the 49ers will give Lance a chance to show other teams what he’s capable of in their preseason finale on Friday against the Los Angeles Chargers.