Dallas Cowboys Are Treating Trey Lance as 'De Facto' Quarterback Pick

Trey Lance serves as the Cowboys quarterback pick.

Oct 8, 2023; Santa Clara, California, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Trey Lance (15) jogs off of / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Trey Lance was supposed to be the quarterback of the future for the San Francisco 49ers, who traded up with the Miami Dolphins and gave up three first-round picks to get him in the 2021 NFL Draft. Sadly, things did not work out for Lance, and he has since landed with the Dallas Cowboys.

The Cowboys ended up trading only a fourth-round pick to the 49ers to acquire Lance, who was then listed as the team's third-string quarterback. Whether or not it was evident at the time, the feeling was that owner Jerry Jones was going to use Lance as the eventual successor to Dak Prescott.

Prescott's relationship with the organization is not the best right now, despite Jones stating, "Want Dak Prescott, that's that." The issue is that Jones has not been forthcoming about a new contract, and things could get far dicier if a contract is not discusssed.

Though many believe that Jones could be aiming to land a quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft, perhaps like Oregon's Bo Nix, Jones stated that Lance is essentially their quarterback selection.

He spoke during the team's pre-draft press conference about what it means to add Lance to the team. ""When we made the trade for Lance, you know these quarterbacks go early. When there's a need for them, they go earlier than you think they should. When we were able to use a fourth-round pick, where we were able to get depth. To have Trey Lance sitting there right now, our cup runneth over when you add [Lance and Cooper Rush] to Dak."

Lance was meant to be a franchise quarterback, but he never quite got that chance with the 49ers. It could be that Jones is playing the waiting game to see how he develops through OTAs, training camp, and preseason to see if he does possess the right skills to eventually step into the role of the starter.

While fans might want to see the Cowboys take a quarterback in the later rounds of the draft, Jones' remarks make it clear that the team is likely to stay put in that department.