OXNARD, Calif. — When Dallas Cowboys Head coach Mike McCarthy was asked Monday if the team was starting to think about 53-man roster decisions, and the reporter didn’t even answer the question in its entirety.
“No, no,” McCarthy said. “We’re not there yet. We’re not there yet.”
The next day, Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones met with the media at the practice field. Jones guaranteed the inclusion of at least one player currently on the fringes of the final roster.
“Do I need to see more things from Trey Lance“Jones said, repeating the question he had been asked. Can we stop there? The answer is yes. Yes. He’ll be on 53.”
Lance, the Cowboys’ third-round quarterback, acquired for a fourth-round pick late in last year’s preseason, has had an uneven training camp. In practice, Lance has often been slow in his reads and inconsistent in his accuracy. He has had a Poor pre-season start in Los Angeles but followed with progress in second preseason game in Las VegasThe fact that Jones is guaranteeing Lance a roster spot isn’t terribly surprising, given that Lance’s $5.31 million salary cap hit is fully guaranteed.
Jones’ staunch support, however, is a reminder of where the blame lies.
It’s been almost exactly a year since Jones last left the San Francisco 49ers hang up the phone until a deal was struck to send Lance to Dallas. It was August 25, 2023, the day before the Cowboys’ final preseason home game against the The Las Vegas Raidersthat the Cowboys have agreed to send their 2024 fourth-round pick for the 23-year-old quarterback.
“We didn’t waste any time,” Jones said last year. “As soon as we knew they were serious about trading him, we didn’t want the phone to hang up.”
After not leading a TD drive against the Rams, Trey Lance threw for a TD and ran for another against the Raiders. (Jonathan Hui/USA Today)
On the surface, bringing in a raw young talent like Lance — he had four NFL Lance threw 102 assists in the regular season and had 102 pass attempts in the regular season. For a fourth-round pick, that seems like a steal. Lance was just two years removed from becoming the third overall pick, and the Cowboys had a second-round grade on him when he went out in the 2021 draft.
Lance’s contract situation has always been the curious part. Given the timing of his arrival, his third NFL season was doomed to fail — and it was. Lance was inactive for the entire 2023 season as the third-year QB in Dallas. When it came time to decide on his fifth-year option, the Cowboys had to decline because they hadn’t seen anything from him.
If Dak Prescott If Prescott’s performance faltered in 2023, Lance might have been a possibility for the future. But in his eighth season, Prescott had arguably his best year in the NFL and finished second in MVP voting. Even with a huge playoff loss, given his performance and the looming salary cap increase, an extension for Prescott seemed inevitable.
This has not yet happened.
In the risk-reward equation, the reward for trading Lance to Dallas was always contingent on a strong 2024 preseason. Perhaps the Cowboys could then feel pretty confident about a potential future with him at center, or they could sell him in a trade to immediately improve the roster, or get a higher draft pick than the one they gave up to acquire him.
This did not come to fruition either.
The risk part of the risk-reward equation is the current reality. The Cowboys have three quarterbacks on the roster for 2024 and none under contract for 2025. One guy is a regular-season regular, one is a fortified NFL backup and the third — Lance — raises questions about his place on a quality NFL depth chart, if he even makes it.
Trey Lance: Preseason Performance
| Opposition police | COMP | ATT | YDS | PCT | TD-INT | CAR | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
25 |
41 |
188 |
60.9 |
0-0 |
6 |
44 |
0 |
|
|
15 |
23 |
151 |
65.2 |
1-0 |
7 |
34 |
1 |
|
|
40 |
64 |
339 |
62.5 |
1-0 |
13 |
78 |
1 |
An optimist might have viewed Lance’s situation in Dallas as an opportunity for him to learn the ropes from Prescott and be mentored by McCarthy. The Cowboys head coach has a history of positive results with quarterbacks, from Brett Favre’s most popular late-career partnerships, most of Aaron Rodgers’ career and Prescott’s prime, to Aaron Brooks’ generally more forgotten success in New Orleans at the turn of the century.
The McCarthy story is meant to underscore Jones’ important role in this saga. If Lance stumbles, he’ll join a long line of quarterbacks Jones has misjudged in the 21st century.
Remember Quincy Carter, the guy Jones was so sure would take over after Troy Aikman? Or Chad Hutchinson, who Jones gave to a seven-year contract with a large guaranteed sum, even though he hadn’t played football in the previous five years? Or Drew Henson, who the Cowboys gave up a third-round pick to, leading to a quick exit and elimination? Or Paxton Lynch And Connor Cooktwo guys the Cowboys pursued in the 2016 draft?
It’s the kind of assessment at the most important position in sports that would cost most general managers their jobs.
Jones was saved by Sean Payton’s man Tony Romo during the wilderness years of the early 2000s. He fell to Prescott after wishing he had Lynch, who Jones said had “the most potential” in the 2016 draft, and Cook. Lynch started four NFL games while Cook never started one, and neither was in the NFL after 2017.
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To be fair, one cannot act in hindsight. Although the timing is curious because of the contract, many considered the trade for Lance favorablyPerhaps Jones’ history of evaluating quarterbacks and the importance he places on his beliefs at the position should have been a more common thought.
It’s understandable to lament the loss of the 2024 fourth-round pick, and it’s often done in the context of choosing a running back. It’s a reasonable sentiment, but the Cowboys have shown no signs they would have addressed that position even if they had the selection. Jones views Lance as the fourth-round pick, which is a flawed line of thinking because he only has four years left on a rookie contract.
Lance’s story in Dallas isn’t over yet – Jones made that clear this week. But the early results haven’t been great. However, regardless of how the story ends, Jones is solely responsible for it, for better or worse.
(Top photo of Trey Lance: Harry How/Getty Images)
