Analyst calls 49ers QB an 'under-the-radar' trade candidate

The San Francisco 49ers' QB room might get less crowded in the coming weeks.

The 33rd Team's Ari Meirov highlighted "under-the-radar" trade candidates ahead of next week's annual league meetings and mentioned former third overall pick Trey Lance as a player who could end up switching teams. 

It's a bit of a surprise to see Lance's name included in the list after only two seasons in the league, but there is some valid reasoning behind a potential move. Although, Meirov cautioned the idea of a trade derives from people reading the tree leaves of the team's offseason moves.

"San Francisco signed Sam Darnold in free agency to a one-year, $4.5 million contract that could be worth up to $11 million with incentives. Some have wondered what that means for Trey Lance," Meirov writes. "For now, it's all speculation but there are people who don't think Darnold signed there to ... be QB3."

Brock Purdy also emerged as a potential long-term option in Kyle Shanahan's offense last season. He suffered a torn UCL in the NFC Championship Game but has a recovery timeline that puts him in line for a potential return in time for the start of the season.

If he is the preferred starter, Lance, as surprising as it might sound, could be the odd man out. That would be a precipitous drop for a player who entered the 2022 season as the QB of the future.

Situations change in a hurry in the NFL, but the thought of the same 49ers braintrust that traded up to select Lance third overall in 2021 turning around and trading him two years later seems far-fetched.

What's more likely is Darnold's signing is the work of a team insuring itself against a doomsday scenario. More often than not, San Francisco has needed three starting QBs during the season in the Shanahan era. Since becoming head coach in 2017, the 49ers have started three quarterbacks in four of his six seasons. 

A trade involving Lance at this juncture would be premature. He hasn't played in enough games for the 49ers to know for sure whether or not they should move on from him or for another team to believe he could be its answer.