“Decision that we all had to make” - When Kyle Shanahan explained decision to select Trey Lance after blockbuster trade in 2021 NFL draft

Former first-round pick Mac Jones signed a $7 million deal for two years with the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday after spending his rookie years with the Jacksonville Jaguars. His trade to the 49ers has excited fans who were upset by the selection of Trey Lance in 2021.

The 49ers leaped from No. 12 to No. 3 to select North Dakota State Bison quarterback Trey Lance in the 2021 NFL draft. The 49ers paid a hefty price to secure Lance, exchanging three first-round picks with the Miami Dolphins. That left the 49ers without a first-round pick until 2024.

Although the 49ers acquired a dynamic, dual-threat QB, fans believed general manager John Lynch overpaid for Lance. However, Denver coach Kyle Shanahan defended the decision during an appearance on "The Rich Eisen Show" in May 2021:

“I actually believe that if we wouldn't have, somebody else was going to eventually, and that price is only going to go up. That was a decision that we all had to make. Me, John, Jed (York), and once we did, we never really looked back, and what changed was I think the feeling of when you go through that stuff.”

Shanahan said that management looked into several options, including adding a veteran QB to move on from Jimmy Garoppolo, so they had to move aggressively:

“We looked into all of the others. We looked into the fourth pick, we looked into the fifth pick and the third one was the one that had the most chance to move a month in advance.”

Trey Lance finds no suitors after Dallas Cowboys

However, the move didn’t pay off, as Trey Lance started only four games over two seasons due to injuries. The rise of Brock Purdy and Sam Darnold as the backup QB pushed Lance to the third position, but the 49ers felt the situation wasn’t ideal. So, he was traded to the Dallas Cowboys for a fourth-round pick in the 2024 draft.

But fate had other ideas, as Lance failed to play a single snap in the regular season for the Cowboys despite injuries to star QB Dak Prescott. Co-owner Stephen Jones announced that Lance would soon be a free agent. According to "49ers Sports Talk," Lance is struggling to find a team in 2025, with executives viewing him as a third-choice QB.