The San Francisco 49ers have officially named Trey Lance their third-string QB, setting the stage for a torrent of trade rumors centered on the former No. 3 overall pick. Lance was pitched as a potential franchise player in the 2021 NFL Draft, but the breakout of seventh-round pick Brock Purdy and the arrival of another former No. 3 pick, Sam Darnold, has left Lance without a path to game reps.
Several teams should take interest in Lance, a dual-threat QB who at least deserves a chance to make his mark in the NFL. The circumstances never really favored him in San Francisco, but the North Dakota State product went No. 3 for a reason. Not many college QBs in recent history have matched Lance's combined productivity as a passer and a runner.
Lance makes sense for a specific type of team: perhaps a young team on the verge of a rebuild, or a team with an established veteran in need of a quality backup. If a team already has a young franchise QB and several quality backups, however, there's no discernible reason to target Lance.
That may not dissuade the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have the seventh-best odds to acquire Lance, according to SteelersNow.
Pittsburgh Steelers inexplicably tied to Trey Lance in NFL trade rumors
Pittsburgh enters the 2023 season with extreme confidence in second-year QB Kenny Pickett, who is fresh off an impressive rookie campaign in which he threw for 2,404 yards and seven touchdowns in 13 appearances (12 starts). The No. 20 pick in last year's NFL Draft, Pickett is a genuine foundational piece for the Steelers.
That alone makes Lance a strange proposition. There's no way Lance bumps Pickett out of the starting gig. But, hey, maybe the Steelers need a better backup?
Nope. The Steelers already have two quality QBs behind Pickett. One is NFL vet (and former No. 2 pick) Mitchell Trubisky, who has forged a close working partnership with Pickett. The other is Mason Rudolph, a 2018 third-round pick with better numbers than Lance.
Both Trubisky and Rudolph are qualified NFL QBs. Lance carries plenty of upside, but there's also a reason the Niners have been hesitant to elevate him to the starting pedestal. He is completely unproven and would slot in as QB4 in Pittsburgh, with the obvious caveat that Rudolph (who, again, is probably better right now) would be cut to make room. It would be more logical for the Steelers to field Rudolph trade calls instead of packing another first-round pick into a crowded QB room.
A team should invest in the Trey Lance development project, but there's no reason for the Steelers to be that team. It's a poor allocation of resources. Maybe Lance changes teams and looks like a stud, but it won't happen in Pittsburgh. Vegas odds are tied to bets being placed -- not cold, hard reporting -- so Pittsburgh fans can take solace in the improbability of this whole affair.
