NFL Media, Fans Eviscerated 49ers for 2021 Draft After Trey Lance Trade

San Francisco’s wheeling and dealing in the first round will now live in infamy.

If the 49ers’ 2021 draft had already become the stuff of NFL lore, the event became certifiably infamous on Friday after San Francisco traded away quarterback Trey Lance just over two weeks before the start of his third season. 

The Niners, who acquired the No. 3 pick to select Lance by trading three first-round picks to the Dolphins to move up from No. 12, dealt the former North Dakota State standout to the Cowboys on Friday in exchange for a 2024 fourth-round pick, according to multiple reports. The decision came after San Francisco moved the 23-year-old signal-caller down the depth chart behind rising second-year sensation Brock Purdy and veteran Sam Darnold earlier in the week. 

Though the trade will put an end to the very brief—and rather futile—Lance Era in the Bay Area, the long-lasting ramifications for the 49ers reach far beyond the young quarterback. After moving up to the No. 3 pick in 2021, San Francisco saw the dominoes fall in a way where Miami landed Jaylen Waddle, the Eagles selected DeVonta Smith and All-Pro Micah Parsons ended up with the Cowboys—all selections that were directly connected to the Niners’ initially trading up.

To make matters worse, the Dolphins used the other picks acquired in the deal to make a subsequent trade for Tyreek Hill and Bradley Chubb.

When considering all of that, the move by the 49ers has aged poorly—to say the least. NFL media members and fans were quick to raise that point once again on Friday after San Francisco admitted defeat and cut bait on Lance.