There doesn’t seem to be a vibrant business market for Trey Lance, who was told by 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan on Wednesday that he’s missing out on being the team’s backup quarterback.
And the 49ers get no salary cap benefit from his release. The four-year, $34.1 million contract that signed him as the #3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft is fully guaranteed.
On Thursday, General Manager John Lynch made his first public comments since Lance missed 49ers practice nearly 24 hours earlier.
Lynch said he believed Lance would return to the team and stay for the regular season.
“We are very happy for Trey,” Lynch said on his KNBR podcast. “Maybe this is the most likely option, that he is here.”
It is understood that Lance does not have much trading market.
At 23 years old, Lance was not fully proven with just one season as a starter at North Dakota State and never played even a quarter of a pick in consecutive NFL games.
If the quarterback-friendly 49ers are willing to move on after making such a huge investment to draft him, it’s not exactly a point of leverage to get adequate compensation in return.
But the phone lines are clearly open.
“If we can find a landing spot for Trey that’s really good for him and works for our organization, that’s not something we’re going to turn a blind eye to,” said Lynch.
“But that’s not what our focus is on now. I think our focus is on Trey coming back here and being the best football team.
The 49ers and all NFL teams must trim their rosters of 90 players to the regular season limit of 53 players by Tuesday. The 49ers have four quarterbacks, and Lynch said Lance is ahead of Brandon Allen on the depth chart for third.
“Right now Trey is part of that team, and we’ll move forward with that in mind,” said Lynch.
Lance is expected to return to the team and enter the final preseason game Friday night against the Los Angeles Chargers after starting replacements Brock Purdy and Darnold, Lynch said.
“Yeah, I think that’s the plan,” Lynch said. “He’s our number 3 midfielder as we stand now. And that will be the expectation, to see him after Sam finishes tomorrow.
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