The Dallas Cowboys should not fool themselves into believing they will receive a significant return for Trey Lance, given the New England Patriots’ pitiful return for Mac Jones.
With quarterbacks engaged, real-life NFL situations will never again be like fantasy football.
In today’s aerial-obsessed league, a rookie quarterback is either a passing pyrite or eureka moment. Even the most infamous draft flop will have his devotees, with many choosing to assign responsibility for his inadequacies to the personnel or the system.
That’s where the Dallas Cowboys
stand right now with Trey Lance: acquired from San Francisco shortly before the start of the previous season for relatively little money, Lance has a ton of upside because it hasn’t been demonstrated that his lack of luck—injuries, Brock Purdy’s rise—precludes him from handling the responsibilities of a primary passer.
Due to the unpredictable nature of franchise quarterback setups, the Lance trade honestly might have gone wrong for Dallas in a lot of ways, but Dak Prescott was able to fend off reasonable criticism until the very last minute (the postseason).
Now Dallas is in a relative no man’s land when it comes to Lance’s status: the team has offered varying levels of dedication and assurance to Prescott while primary understudy Cooper Rush has done nothing to deny him the title of a capable backup. The best-case scenario is that Dallas dangles Lance’s promised potential to teams hunting for a quarterback. A post-Kirk Cousins Minnesota has been a popular choice, while a de facto apprenticeship under an aging franchise case (i.e. LA Rams, NY Jets) would also be intriguing.
To be fair, Jones managed to achieve a brief level of stability after Tom Brady during his three tours to Foxborough. However, given his lack of experience, the Cowboys shouldn’t have high expectations for the untested Lance.
Jerry Jones’ fellow general manager contenders have made significant strides in the mystery box method. Take the Jets, who managed to conjure up a second-round pick from Carolina for Sam Darnold, just days after the tragedies of the Adam Gase era. Arizona persuaded Miami to trade a second-round selection for Josh Rosen’s services—or lack thereof—which made the trade from Rosen all the more pleasant. However, what Mac Jones has pursued should eliminate any possibility that the Cowboys may reenter Friday’s activities at the draft.
However, the Jones trade might at least enable the Cowboys to retain Lance for a little while longer. Prescott’s future is still unclear (again), and having Lance conversant with the system would lessen the unpleasantness of a sudden switch in command. The trade deadline in the fall of next year should be interesting for Lance’s prospects in North Texas and beyond, as a number of injuries along the passing front will likely increase desperation.
In the end, patience is a useful asset rather than a virtue in the NFL. For better or worse, Dallas can afford to pay a little bit extra on Lance, while New England broke even on Jones.
Read more on sportchannel.co.uk
Leave a Reply