Trey Lance entered his NFL career to a lot of fanfare. The North Dakota State product was a member of the touted 2021 draft class, which was believed to be loaded at quarterback.
In total, five quarterbacks were selected in the first round of that year’s draft. Lance was the third of the group, and landed in what many believed to be a favorable situation with the San Francisco 49ers.
However, Lance’s early career didn’t go as he had hoped. He is now looking to carve out a role for himself on his third different team as he enters his fifth NFL season, a fate four of his fellow first-round quarterbacks are also resigned to in 2025.
Here’s what to know about Lance’s career to date and how he landed with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Trey Lance career timeline
49ers select Trey Lance No. 3 overall in 2021 NFL Draft
San Francisco traded four draft picks to the Miami Dolphins to move up from No. 12 overall to No. 3 ahead of the 2021 NFL Draft, a signal the 49ers were going to select a quarterback. It was just a matter of which prospect they would select.
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Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson came off the board with the top two picks, which left the 49ers a choice of Lance, Justin Fields or Mac Jones with the third selection. Ultimately, the team decided to bank on the uber-athletic Lance’s dual-threat upside.
Lance had started just one full season for North Dakota State, as his final college season was postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019, Lance led the Bison to a perfect 16-0 record and an FCS title. He completed 66.9% of his passes for 2,786 yards and 28 touchdowns with no interceptions while adding 1,100 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground.
Lance was just 21 years old when he was drafted, and his raw tools excited NFL talent evaluators. Many believed he would need time to develop behind the scenes at the NFL level, but they were also curious to see what he would be able to achieve in Kyle Shanahan’s quarterback-friendly system.
Trey Lance named 49ers starter for 2022, injured in Week 2
Lance played sparingly as a rookie. He went 1-1 in two starts backing up Jimmy Garoppolo, completing 57.7% of his passes for 603 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions while adding 168 yards and a touchdown on 38 carries.
Lance flashed enough that San Francisco made him its starter entering the 2022 NFL season. However, he played just 84 total snaps on the year, as he broke his ankle in the first quarter of the team’s Week 2 game against the Seattle Seahawks.
Lance missed the remainder of the season because of his ankle injury. Garoppolo first took over for him before rookie Brock Purdy emerged as San Francisco’s top signal-caller. The seventh-round rookie led the 49ers to an NFC championship game appearance and established himself as the team’s quarterback of the future.
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Trey Lance traded to Cowboys ahead of 2023 NFL season
Because Purdy suffered a throwing-elbow injury in the NFC championship game, it was believed Lance might have a chance to battle him for the starting job in 2023. Instead, the North Dakota State product found himself behind both Purdy and free-agent acquisition Sam Darnold on San Francisco’s depth chart ahead of the season.
Lance performed well in the preseason, completing 22 of 33 passes for 285 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in two outings. Eventually, the 49ers traded him to the Cowboys for a fourth-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, which would later become safety Malik Mustapha.
Lance dressed for just four games across his two seasons with the Cowboys and made one start. He completed 20 of 34 passes for 244 yards and ran for 26 yards in Dallas’ Week 18 loss to the Washington Commanders at the end of the 2024 NFL season.
The Cowboys elected not to exercise Lance’s fifth-year option before the final year of his rookie contract and opted not to re-sign him during the 2025 offseason. Instead, they traded for second-year quarterback Joe Milton to battle Will Grier for the backup quarterback job behind Dak Prescott.
Trey Lance signs one-year, $2 million deal with Chargers
Lance lingered on the free-agent market until April, when the Chargers signed him to a one-year deal to battle Taylor Heinicke for the backup job behind Justin Herbert.
Lance’s deal with the Chargers is worth a base value of $2 million that could escalate to $6.2 million if certain incentives are met.
Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh is looking forward to seeing what Lance can do on the field during the 2025 NFL preseason.
“He’s had a heck of a camp,” Harbaugh said of Lance, per Chargers.com.
“I just want to get Trey Lance game experience,” Harbaugh later added. “With his career and then in college, he doesn’t have as much as most guys.”
