Getty Cowboys third-string quarterback Trey Lance.
The Cowboys have approached this offseason in a rather unexpected way, no question, opting to mostly sit on their current star contracts, all of which are due for extensions. The team could have aggressively re-signed the players—quarterback Dak Prescott, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and edge rusher Micah Parsons—and created cap space to sign other free agents in doing so, but instead, the Cowboys have claimed poverty and opted for bargain-basement signings squeezed under the team’s sliver of salary space.
One of the goals now appears to be girding Cowboys Nation for the possibility that Dallas will not bring back Prescott after his contract runs up this year. It sounds outlandish, and could only be a bargaining ploy, but Prescott’s status with the Cowboys is at least on shaky grounds depending on how this season turns out.
Potentially, one clear signal that Dallas does not intend to let Prescott go elsewhere would be the handling of Trey Lance, the backup quarterback—third-stringer, actually—the team acquired last summer from the 49ers. Lance is chewing up $5 million in cap space, and the Cowboys still have Cooper Rush under contract as the proven No. 2 behind Prescott.
For a team pinching pennies, it would seem something have to give—and according to CBS Sports, that something could well be Lance himself.
Cowboys Need Dak Prescott Leverage
In an article from the weekend titled, “Five quarterbacks who could still be traded before start of 2024 NFL season: Cowboys, Falcons might be sellers,” Cody Benjamin of CBS listed Lance as a potential trade candidate.
“By acquiring him for a fourth-rounder a year ago, the Cowboys signaled they might view Lance as a long-term alternative to steady starter Dak Prescott. But the former San Francisco 49ers prospect has yet to take an official snap for Dallas and will be a free agent after 2024, with Cooper Rush seemingly entrenched as the No. 2. Dealing him after June 1 would save $5 million,” Benjamin wrote.
That is all true, but trading Lance now would not make a whole lot of sense. The reason the Cowboys have him on board is that they want some leverage in contract talks with Prescott, and for that, they need a reasonable alternative to Prescott on the roster. Lance, the No. 3 pick in 2021, is a reasonable alternative.
There is some sense to trading away Lance, but not until Prescott signs a new deal.
Trey Lance to Get a Long Look in Camp
The problem for the Cowboys, though, is that they are like the rest of the NFL when it comes to Lance: They have no idea what he can do. Lance has never thrown a pass for the Cowboys and did not appear in a game last season. His entire NFL life has been limited to eight games, and just four starts. He has completed 56 passes for 797 yards.
The Cowboys aim to change that, at least in training camp and the preseason.
Talking about Lance this weekend, team VP Stephen Jones told reporters, “Yeah, we’re excited to see him. He’s done nothing but impress around here. He’s a pro that works his ass off.
“No one gets to see him because he hasn’t been on the field because we got him late. But we’re going to get to see him.”