Trey Lance has been with the Cowboys for over 14 months.
Dallas acquired the former San Francisco starter after Sam Darnold won the QB2 role for the 49ers in 2023, leading to Lance being stashed on the roster.
However, Lance hasn’t shown much development with his second NFL team.
The former No. 3 overall pick entered this season as the Cowboys’ third-string quarterback, after being inactive throughout 2023.
Any thoughts of him potentially becoming the team’s 2025 starter faded when the Cowboys extended Dak Prescott on a record-breaking four-year, $240 million contract.
With Prescott now on injured reserve, Lance has an opportunity, but as of now, a 3-5 Cowboys team does not appear interested in starting him.
Cooper Rush remains the solidified starter over Lance, according to ESPN’s Dan Graziano, who reports the team believes the veteran gives them a better chance to win.
While the Cowboys may consider packages specifically for Lance, Graziano adds that there’s no thought of him overtaking Rush on the depth chart for an extended look.
This comes after Stephen Jones indicated that Lance could potentially see some action amid Prescott’s hamstring injury.
With the Cowboys on the verge of slipping out of the playoff race in a season where Mike McCarthy’s job is on the line, it’s understandable that the coaching staff isn’t focused on long-term evaluations.
However, if the team’s current losing streak continues without Prescott, who is out for at least four games, ownership potentially stepping in could become an intriguing storyline.
The Cowboys have previously fared well with Rush as the starter, going 5-1 with him in that role.
Rush, in his second stint with the Cowboys and now in his fifth year, stepped in for Prescott in September 2022 when the starter suffered a thumb injury.
During Prescott’s five-game absence, Rush went 4-1, though he completed fewer than 59% of his passes and averaged just 6.5 yards per attempt.
Prescott exited Week 9 ranked 25th in QBR, underscoring issues with both his performance and the team around him.
It will be interesting to see how Rush handles this situation, as he now holds the responsibility for keeping the Cowboys in playoff contention or risking a drop to the bottom of the NFC standings.
A report from midsummer suggested Lance might challenge Rush for the backup role, but that never materialized, as Rush retained the No. 2 spot during training camp.
The Cowboys gave Lance substantial preseason playing time since the North Dakota State product has limited experience — for a top prospect, at least — since high school.
By trading for Lance, the Cowboys committed to a fully guaranteed $5 million on his contract, joining the Steelers (Justin Fields), Jaguars (Mac Jones), and Broncos (Zach Wilson) in declining the fifth-year option on a traded first-round quarterback from the 2021 draft class.
Given that Rush is a relatively known quantity at 30, any game action for Lance would generate considerable interest in Dallas.
Now 24, Lance hasn’t seen regular-season play since fracturing his ankle in Week 2 of the 2022 season, which ended his starting tenure with the 49ers.
In 2022, the 49ers renegotiated a deal with Jimmy Garoppolo as insurance behind Lance after spending the offseason trying to trade Garoppolo.
When Lance struggled, Garoppolo (and later Brock Purdy) led San Francisco back to the NFC Championship.
Darnold eventually beat out Lance, who had effectively lost his role to a former seventh-round pick, prompting the move to Dallas.
The Cowboys have now traded fourth-round picks for both Lance and Jonathan Mingo, with the latter trade happening Tuesday.
While Mingo is under contract through 2026, Lance is approaching 2025 free agency with limited momentum.
Although the Cowboys could potentially create some by allowing him game time, more than a year into his time with Dallas, it’s notable that the team hasn’t considered moving him past an eighth-year backup to replace Prescott.
