When the Dallas Cowboys arrive in Oxnard, Calif., for the start of training camp in two months, there will be several key players attracting attention. From rookies like Tyler Guyton and Cooper Beebe to players coming back from injuries like Trevon Diggs and DeMarvion Overshown. Second-year defensive tackle Mazi Smith will also probably be high on that list.
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But there might not be one more intriguing than Trey Lance.
The Cowboys traded their fourth-round pick in this year’s draft to San Francisco for Lance right before last season started. The third overall pick in the 2021 draft didn’t play a single snap for Dallas last season as the team’s No. 3 quarterback behind Dak Prescott and Cooper Rush.
Lance has not played in a preseason game since Aug. 19 when he completed 12 of 18 passes for 173 yards with one touchdown and one interception for the 49ers. His last time in a regular-season game was Sept. 18, 2022, when he exited the Week 2 contest against the Seattle Seahawks with a season-ending ankle injury.
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Since joining the Cowboys, Lance’s work has consisted of only practice reps, with a large portion spent as the scout-team quarterback. He’ll enter this season’s training camp competing with Rush for the backup QB job. Dallas needs to see what it has behind Prescott with all three quarterbacks playing in the final year of their contracts.
“We’re excited to see him,” Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said of Lance. “He’s done nothing but impress around here. He’s a pro, he works his ass off. No one gets to see him, because he hasn’t been on the field (because) we got him late. But we’re going to get to see him.”
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on Trey Lance pic.twitter.com/Ig8hLBreC5
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) March 2, 2024
Lance, who turned 24 earlier this month, has been working to become more comfortable playing in the West Coast offense. The footwork changes were probably his biggest hurdle.
“It’s nice being able to start with a foundation and kind of learn it as you go,” Cowboys quarterbacks coach Scott Tolzien said. “It’s no different than jumping into a math class after you move midway through the year. It’s nice to teach it from the grassroots so he can hear the origins of everything.
“We’re working on a couple things fundamentally, just some of the drops he had done in San Francisco don’t correlate to what we do here. And there’s no wrong way in that, there’s just different ways to skin the cat there.
“Trey is super coachable, so it’s been awesome working with him. It’s not just hearsay for him, he works at it, whether he’s with us or on his own time. It’s obvious that he works at it and we’re appreciative of that.”
It’s one thing to get those reps in individual drills, it’s another to execute them while players are going live. Cowboys defenders won’t be allowed to hit Lance in camp practices, but he’s expected to see a lot of work in Dallas’ three preseason games. There’s a good chance that Prescott doesn’t take a snap in the preseason. Rush has been in the league for seven years. He doesn’t necessarily need the reps, either. Lance will be the one getting most of that work. And if he plays well, his name will become a popular topic, not only in Dallas, but around the league.
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“That’s our payday in football,” Tolzien said. “You do so much practicing, and that’s been the reality for him, the scout team, so I’m super excited to watch him with I guess what you would call these game-like reps (in OTAs, minicamp, training camp and preseason games).”
The longer Prescott’s contract situation is unresolved, the bigger a storyline it will become. It’s possible this could be his final year in Dallas. The Cowboys cannot franchise tag him and there is a no-trade clause in his contract. If Prescott reaches free agency next March, there will likely be several teams bidding at the top of the QB market for his services. If he signs elsewhere, the Cowboys will have a major hole at the most important position. If that were to happen, Lance could be in position to be Dallas’ next starter. While that’s a long way down the road and a lot of cards still need to be played, it doesn’t sound like Lance’s presence has changed anything about the professionalism in the quarterback room.
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“(Prescott’s) been great,” Tolzien said. “He goes out of his way, on a play maybe that he has a long history with to maybe teach (Lance) some of the nuances within. Beyond that, just teaching him the ropes, things that he’s used in the past (that have helped) him, both fundamentally and approach-wise. I’m really lucky. I have a really good quarterback room. The guys help each other out. It’s really natural. It makes my job easy.”
There’s a reason why Lance was the third player picked in 2021, ahead of stars like Micah Parsons, Ja’Marr Chase and Penei Sewell. In 16 starts during his 2019 season at North Dakota State, Lance threw for 28 touchdowns and no interceptions while rushing for another 14 scores. He’s obviously talented.
“A unique talent, Lance has the athleticism, arm talent and make-up to be a playmaker,” The Athletic’s Dane Brugler wrote of Lance in his 2021 draft guide. “While he takes care of the football, there were too many one-read-and-run plays on film and NDSU relied on the run game as the bread-and-butter of their offense (In his 17 career starts, Lance averaged 18.6 pass attempts per game while the team averaged 45 rush attempts). Overall, Lance is an unprecedented evaluation and will require time as he adjusts to the speed and complexities of the NFL, but his physical traits, poise and intelligence are a rare package for his age and meager experience. He should compete for NFL starting snaps during his rookie season.”
He won’t compete for starting reps in Dallas, but Lance will get every opportunity to be Prescott’s backup in 2024. What he does with that opportunity could make for some of the most intriguing Cowboys storylines in a few months.
“He’s done nothing but excite us even more as he’s worked here all of last season and in the offseason, in terms of his work ethic, his skill level,” Stephen Jones said last month on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. “We’re very pleased. He exhibits everything you would think a top 5 pick would exhibit. … Trey exhibits similar type work ethic (to Prescott). Obviously Trey is a really good athlete, and the most important thing is his arm. He’s got a very live arm, very strong arm. He continues to improve with his footwork and his accuracy.”
(Photo: Mitchell Leff / Getty Images)
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