Trey Lance set to finally play significant snaps on Sunday but Cowboys' quarterback decision carries bitter taste
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said earlier in the week that whatever happened on the team's regular season finale against the Washington Commanders wouldn't change the course of their decision regarding Mike McCarthy and the rest of the coaching staff. Fans should approach the news about quarterback Trey Lance reportedly playing his first "significant" snaps of […]
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said earlier in the week that whatever happened on the team's regular season finale against the Washington Commanders wouldn't change the course of their decision regarding Mike McCarthy and the rest of the coaching staff.
Fans should approach the news about quarterback Trey Lance reportedly playing his first "significant" snaps of the year in similar fashion: It shouldn't change their mind of what was an objectively lousy trade.
After all, it's clear the Cowboys were never really that high on Lance. Even after giving up a fourth rounder for his services, the former No. 3 overall pick never even came close to battling for the backup job to Dak Prescott, as Cooper Rush was always one step ahead.
Even if they wanted Lance to overtake Rush's spot on the depth chart, it never happened. Understandable in 2023, with Lance being new to the scheme and not having an offseason to work with but concerning in 2024, when he failed to put up a legit battle for the No. 2 job. Even before the Cowboys headed to Oxnard, California, for training camp, reports began to emerge on Rush having the lead in the backup QB battle.
The clear opinion from the Cowboys' coaching staff, which was clear due to their actions more than their words, was that he was not a gameday-ready player. Not even with the season virtually over following Prescott's season-ending injury in Week 9 did Lance get a legit shot at seeing the playing field.
When asked about who they'd start throughout the back half of the season, head coach Mike McCarthy consistently went with Rush while pointing out they wanted to win.
Truth be told, it seems like either the Cowboys were way off in their evaluation of Lance when they parted ways with a fourth rounder for him or, considering how conservative they are when it comes to pulling off trades, it was an attempt to gain some leverage against Prescott in 2023. If so, it was a futile one having signed Dak to a $240 million extension while making Lance a healthy scratch until injuries forced them to list him as active.
To make matters worse, Week 18 is likely going to be an audition for Lance in which he'll be interested in impressing other teams, not Dallas. Because if I was him and I was hitting free agency in March, I wouldn't plan on returning to the team that never seemed to think he was worth the playing time.
