The 49ers would like a do-over, please.
The franchise traded up to select Trey Lance with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, but moved on from the quarterback after just two seasons, sending him to Dallas for a 2024 fourth-round pick in late August.
For coach Kyle Shanahan, the trade marked an acknowledgment that things didn’t work out, due in part to injuries and the emergence of Brock Purdy last season.
“That’s exactly the deal, it didn’t work exactly the way all of us wanted it to and once you realize that it’s time to move on and we did for us and we did for him and I think we’re both in a much better position now,” Shanahan said Thursday on KNBR 680’s “Tolbert & Ratto.”
Lance was handed the reins of the 49ers offense to open the 2022 season, but a Week 2 ankle injury put Jimmy Garoppolo back under center.
Garoppolo was later sidelined with an injury of his own, paving the way for Purdy — the last pick of the 2022 NFL Draft at No. 262— who led the 49ers to the NFC title game in January.
Lance had some red flags entering the draft — he hadn’t thrown a pass in a month at that point — but that didn’t stop San Francisco from dealing three first-round picks to move up from No. 12 to the third position.
At the time, the 49ers were preparing to move on from Garoppolo with limited free-agency options to fill the quarterback void.
Hindsight is still 20/20, however.
“When you move up and it doesn’t work out, that’s definitely a mistake,” Shanahan said. “But we did like our decisions when we looked into the two veterans that were available and we didn’t get that and we knew what way we were going to have to go two years from then. We knew we needed to go up and get a quarterback at that time.”
Lance finished his time with the 49ers totaling four starts in eight games over two seasons, completed 56 of his 102 pass attempts with five touchdowns and three interceptions, adding 235 yards and a score on the ground.
After the tumult of his San Francisco stint, Lance is excited about a change of scenery in Dallas, where Dak Prescott is the Cowboys’ starter.
“Very excited to be here,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “For me, it’s just learning, taking it one day at a time. Not really trying to look too far forward or anything like that, but really, right now, just kind of be a sponge and learn and enjoy every day.”