John Lynch Appears To Shut Down Trey Lance Trade Talk With Firm Declaration On 49ers Future As QB Remains In Dark

There has been a lot of smoke out of San Francisco and across the NFL surrounding the possibility of Trey Lance being traded. General Manager John Lynch is calling it exactly that — smoke.

Lance, the No. 3 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, was always going to be a project. The 22-year-old played his college ball at North Dakota State and balled out while in Fargo, but faced inferior competition and entered the league with kinks that needed to be worked out.

That continues to be the case today, especially as Lance recovers from a season-ending ankle injury that he suffered in Week 2 of the 2022-23 season after being named the starter over Jimmy Garoppolo. He has played just eight games, with four starts, in the NFL.

There is a lot to like about Lance, but again, he was always going to need time to learn and grow.

However, in his and Garoppolo's absence at the end of last fall, Brock Purdy emerged. The 2022 Mr. Irrelevant may have eliminated the need to keep Lance on the roster, but Purdy is coming off a shoulder injury that required UCL surgery, so that makes things even more complicated.

Lynch has said that Purdy earned the right to start. Tight end George Kittle is in Purdy's camp. Vernon Davis, though, hopes that his former team will ride with Lance.

All of this goes to say that Purdy and Lance are set to battle it out during training camp.

If Trey Lance is still with the 49ers by then, that is.

There have been a handful of reports over the last few weeks that allude to the 49ers kicking the tires about Lance's trade value. The Vikings have been specifically mentioned by name.

Should the reports be accurate, Lance is out of the loop.

I got no comment on that. I have no information.

Lynch spoke about the reports Monday, ahead of Thursday's NFL Draft and provided some interesting commentary. He spoke about the trade rumors.

He also spoke about Lance's future with the organization.

First and foremost, Lynch appears to be shutting down the Lance trade talk. It sounds like Lance is staying put. He could be telling the truth, he could be fibbing in an effort not to show his cards before the draft.

Secondly, Lynch seemed to admit that he and San Francisco have been shopping Lance. He says "hasn't been really active," and "hasn't been that substantive," which alludes to the idea that there have been conversations that aren't particularly significant.

Lynch's statement is riddled with "coach speak," in that he said a lot without really saying anything. And now we wait!