Former San Francisco quarterback Trey Lance had to wait a while in free agency until he found his next opportunity. The former third overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft will return to the West Coast as he signed a one-year deal worth $6.2 million with the Los Angeles Chargers earlier this month.
It’s another opportunity for the young dual-threat quarterback to show he can be a viable backup quarterback in the NFL. The former 49er has had an interesting NFL journey since being drafted in 2021 by San Francisco.
Lance went from the future starting QB in San Francisco to being traded to the Dallas Cowboys in August 2023. With the Cowboys, the former North Dakota State star was QB3 for the 2023 campaign but showed some flashes in the preseason last summer.
Late last season, Lance was elevated to the QB2 spot after Dak Prescott got injured, as Dallas put Cooper Rush into the starting spot. That said, the former first-round pick started in Week 18 against the Washington Commanders and played okay (insert stats).
Lance’s performance in Week 18 and dual-threat skills likely played a part in him landing with the Chargers. However, it’s not guaranteed that the former 49er will be the QB2 in Los Angeles, as the Chargers also re-signed Taylor Heinicke this offseason to a one-year deal.
As Alex Insdorff of BoltBeat.com points out, Lance’s contract likely suggests he’ll be the QB3 with the Chargers.
Trey Lance's New Contract Shows How Far He's Fallen Off
According to Insdorff, Lance’s base salary for the 2025 campaign will be $2.045 million, while Heinicke’s is set at $2.5 million. Insdorff adds “roughly 57 percent” of the former 49er’s 2.045M salary is guaranteed, making that number $1.16M. As for Heinicke, he’s getting $2M guaranteed.
That said, if there’s a head coach who can help develop Lance and make him an adequate quarterback, it's Jim Harbaugh. The former 49ers head coach coached Colin Kaepernick in San Francisco and Josh Johnson at the University of San Diego, both mobile quarterbacks.
And we can’t forget that Harbaugh coached a guy named Andrew Luck at Stanford. Now that’s not to say Lance will become any of those guys. However, after only getting a one-year deal in free agency, he needs to show significant improvement and growth as he’s nowhere near what a former first-round pick quarterback should get paid.