Sometimes s*** happens. Sometimes an unrelenting wave of s*** ruins things before they can even get off of the ground. Trey Lance’s professional football career falls into the latter territory. Just two years after the San Francisco 49ers traded three first-round picks to select Lance with the third overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, his career with the team is all but over. The 49ers announced on Wednesday that Lance would be the third-string quarterback behind Sam Darnold and incumbent starter Brock Purdy.
The fact that Lance is third-string is not exactly surprising given that his play this preseason has been middling at best, but the path here is really unlike any “draft bust” story that we’ve seen.