49ers to explore options on Trey Lance after naming Sam Darnold backup to Brock Purdy, per report

The Trey Lance era in San Francisco might quickly be coming to a close.

The No. 3 overall selection in the 2021 NFL draft will begin the season as the third-string quarterback, as the 49ers have named Sam Darnold as the backup to Brock Purdy, according to NFL Network. The 49ers also will be exploring options for Lance, per the report.

That means San Francisco could look to field interest in a potential trade, or even perhaps opt to release Lance as it looks to whittle its roster down to 53 players ahead of the Tuesday cutdown deadline.

Lance was not in attendance at Wednesday's practice after the news broke.

"We gave him a big chance to win that 2 spot this year. We were pretty lucky to get Sam to come here on the contract. It was a very tough fight. Sam ended up winning it. I wanted to make sure I told Trey as fast as I could," 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan told the team's flagship station KNBR 680.

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Lance, 23, has struggled to stay on the field during his time in San Francisco. Though he was named the starter at the beginning of the 2022 season, Lance suffered a season-ending broken ankle in a Week 2 game that required surgery. During practices in training camp, Lance struggled at times with his accuracy, though he played fairly well in preseason games; in his two appearances, Lance completed 66.7% of his passes for 285 yards with a pair of touchdowns against one interception.

The Niners had previously sent a haul of draft picks to the Miami Dolphins before the 2021 draft to acquire the No. 3 overall selection that they used on Lance.

Lance is entering the third season of his rookie contract, which is fully guaranteed and has a fifth-year option available. Given his high draft position, however, the guaranteed salary could be a detriment for teams who might be interested in an attempt at reviving Lance's career.

The difficulty for Lance has been to sustain playing time. Going back to his days at North Dakota State, Lance has attempted just 420 passes since the start of the 2018 season. By comparison, Tom Brady, the league leader last season in pass attempts, threw the ball 733 times in 2022.

In his NFL career, Lance has completed 54.9% of his throws for 797 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions. He has also gained 235 rushing yards and a score on the ground.

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Darnold, whom the 49ers signed in March, is coming off of an uneven season in Charlotte. He began the year on injured reserve after he sustained a high-ankle sprain in the preseason finale on Aug. 26, 2022. Carolina turned to P.J. Walker and Baker Mayfield in Darnold's absence, but eventually appointed Darnold as the starter in Week 12 and beyond. 

In six games last season, Darnold completed 58.6% of his throws for 1,143 yards with seven touchdowns and three interceptions. He added 106 rushing yards and two scores on the ground. The Panthers went 4-2 in the games Darnold started, but the team just missed out on playoff contention because of their 3-8 start to the season.

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