NFL Rumors: 49ers’ Trey Lance Eyed in Trade Calls with Brock Purdy Set to Be Starter

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With the San Francisco 49ers likely set to go with Brock Purdy as their starting quarterback, Trey Lance is attracting attention from teams looking for help at the position.

Per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, several teams have made inquiries to the 49ers about the 22-year-old quarterback.

Rapoport did note the 49ers haven’t been making calls to shop Lance, but they have listened when clubs have contacted them. No trade is imminent at this point.

The 49ers are in a strange spot with their quarterbacks right now. Purdy exceeded all expectations after taking over as the starter when Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a broken foot in Week 13 against the Miami Dolphins.

San Francisco went 5-0 and averaged 33.6 points per game in Purdy’s five regular-season starts. He threw for 1,098 yards, 11 touchdowns and completed 68.6 percent of his attempts during that stretch.

Purdy underwent surgery March 10 to repair a torn UCL in his elbow suffered during the NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles. He is expected to start a throwing program within three months post-surgery and could be playing in games within six months.

Lance has barely seen the field since being drafted with the No. 3 overall pick in 2021. The North Dakota State alum made two starts as a rookie when Garoppolo was out because of injuries.

The 49ers made Lance their starter going into 2022, but he suffered a fractured fibula and ligament disruption early in a Week 2 win over the Seattle Seahawks that ended his season.

General manager John Lynch told reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine that Lance is expected to be fully cleared by the time organized team activities start in May.

“I get reports, obviously, but my eyes tell me a lot,” Lynch said. “And I’m watching Trey out there taking drops. I don’t see a limp. Not to say he’s 100 percent, but he’s really recovering well and doing a really nice job.”

Given the timeline of Purdy’s surgery and when he might be back to full strength, there’s a chance the 49ers will have to open the regular season without him under center.

The 49ers did sign Sam Darnold as a free agent to provide more quarterback depth, but Lance is a player they invested a lot in with the hope he could become a star.

They traded two first-round draft picks to the Dolphins to move up nine spots in the draft to select Lance. He’s had a rough time just getting on the field since his breakout college season in 2019.

Lance only played one game for North Dakota State in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He’s thrown a total of 420 passes between college and the NFL in his career.

It’s not a surprise teams would be interested in trading for Lance. He’s younger than Kentucky’s Will Levis (23) and Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker (25), two potential first-round picks in this year’s draft, and had enough talent and potential to be a top-three pick just two years ago.