Right now, the most pressing issue facing the Dallas Cowboys is the fact that arguably their three biggest stars — pass rusher Micah Parsons, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and quarterback Dak Prescott — are due for contract extensions. They are also facing some real roster holes, such as at the running back position and at the WR2 spot.
While Prescott is a very good quarterback — at least in the regular season — the Cowboys also have a unique situation behind him. Cooper Rush, from all outward appearances, is their backup quarterback, but in Trey Lance, they have a man who could be a starter or at least a backup on other teams but is instead languishing deep on their depth chart.
He was the No. 3 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers, who groomed him to be Jimmy Garoppolo’s successor and, they hoped, an upgrade over Garoppolo. However, due to injury and the fortuitous emergence of Brock Purdy, Lance never got a chance to show what he was capable of, and they traded him to Dallas a year ago.
Ryan Fowler of Bleacher Report feels Lance could soon ask to be traded in order to actually get a chance to get onto the field in games that actually matter.
“2024 is a critical year for Lance, who needs development and on-field experience at 24. Lance is in a battle with Cooper Rush for the backup role, so there’s no guarantee that he will be QB2,” wrote Fowler.
“Even if he wins the backup job to put himself one snap away from action should Prescott suffer an injury, Lance may value the chance at winning the QB1 job with a team lacking an established starter.
“An organization searching for fresh legs at the position (without having to allocate high draft capital) could find Lance an appealing target, offering him a chance to compete for a starting gig.”
Lance has been thought to have potential, and he does have some unique skills as a potential dual-threat QB. But he has barely played in actual games dating back to his college days.
He played just two games as a freshman at North Dakota State University, a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) school, and after appearing in 16 games the following year, he was limited to one game in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In three NFL seasons, he has appeared in just eight games — none in 2023 — and has thrown a total of only 102 pass attempts.
Simply put, Lance needs to be on the field in order to become whatever he can become. After all, as the old saying goes, potential has a shelf life.
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