The Dallas Cowboys made an unexpected trade with the San Francisco 49ers on Friday night, obtaining former No. 3 overall pick Trey Lance in exchange for a future fourth-round pick.
The third-year quarterback was just overtaken on the Niners' depth chart by fellow former No.
3 overall pick Sam Darnold, and will now likely battle for the backup spot behind Dak Prescott in Dallas.
The Cowboys were not at or near the top of the list of clubs expected to be interested in the Lance sweepstakes, so their acquisition of him comes as quite a surprise.
So, why would they make such a move? Let's go over some of the reasons it would make sense, even for a team with a locked-in starter whose contract includes a no-trade clause.
Jerry Jones told reporters at the Senior Bowl that the Cowboys were "committed" to picking a quarterback in the 2023 draft, and that they should have done it the year before
However, when the draft rolled along, things did not go as planned for the Cowboys.
None of the top five quarterbacks were selected until Jake Haener and Stetson Bennett were selected with late-fourth-round picks.
The Cowboys held the next pick, which they used to choose defensive lineman Viliami Fehoko. Between that pick and the following one,
cornerback Eric Scott, five more quarterbacks (Aidan O'Connell, Clayton Tune, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Sean Clifford, and Jarred Hall) were taken. So, despite their desire to select a quarterback, the Boys did not take one.