CFZ The murky thinking behind the Trey Lance trade

[Chasing6]

I wonder if we offered him a bigger guarantee if we could get his salary cost down. I mean, $5 million these days isn't really that bad for a backup QB, but I'd like to see if we could work out a short extension. Since it's a roster bonus, he might be willing to negotiate it into a signing bonus so he gets his $4 million no matter what. Maybe we could turn it into a $6 million signing bonus on a three-year deal that escalates. Then we can get him down to $3 million this year, maybe $5 million in 2025 and $10 million in 2026. Of course, with a $19 million fifth-year option, he might not go for it, but with no guarantees he's even going to be worth a million, I think he'd want the guaranteed money for sure and especially if it is increased some.

I don't really like the idea of having just one camp to determine if he's worth keeping long term. If he plays well, then he gets some negotiating power without a longer-term deal in place. Under what I've laid out, if he plays poorly, Dallas is going to lose $4 million anyway (since the bonus kicks in before camp) so adding $2 million more to guarantee he's under contract for at least another year (and cut his hit this year) isn't that bad.

It also would be a palatable contract if some other team were to offer us a trade if he played well in the preseason.

His Salary is guaranteed. $5M is top 5 back up QB pay and number 1 emergency QB pay.

 

[gimmesix]

His Salary is guaranteed. $5M is top 5 back up QB pay and number 1 emergency QB pay.

The base is guaranteed as well? Still, if we offered him more than what he is guaranteed now, we would be able to rework it. I think we still could get the hit this year down to around $3 million. The incentive is certainly there for us with him on the high-end of backup pay.

 

[Chasing6]

The base is guaranteed as well? Still, if we offered him more than what he is guaranteed now, we would be able to rework it. I think we still could get the hit this year down to around $3 million. The incentive is certainly there for us with him on the high-end of backup pay.

You can't negotiate a rookie contract.

 

[JoeKing]

Last August, seemingly out of nowhere, Jerry Jones apparently made a fairly big decision without consulting his HC: He traded a 4th round pick to the 49ers in exchange for the niners former first round QB Trey Lance, who the niners had clearly decided was a mistake. Approximately six months and an entire regular season later, a clear purpose for this trade is still somewhat unclear if not strange.

Trey Lance has yet to take a meaningful snap for the Cowboys and was never on the game day roster this past season. Last off-season, the Cowboys had signed backup QB Cooper Rush to a two year, $5,000,000 contract. Rush has one more year on that deal but it does have a fairly painless out if they choose to release him as an upcoming post June 1 cut.

Also in this mix of head scratchers is the fact that Lance goes into 2024 on the last year of his rookie deal before becoming an unrestricted FA.
So here are some of my questions about the Lance move:

• What was the primary purpose for obtaining Trey Lance? (A successor to Dak, leverage against Dak in contract negotiations, future trade bait with other teams?)
• Are the Cowboys following some kind of plan with him…or not?
• How can the Cowboys know what they have in Lance if they hang on to Cooper Rush as the backup?

Here are some possible scenarios/answers to those questions:

• A- Lance was obtained to give the Cowboys leverage and a possible replacement for Dak should the team decide to move on from Dak. (I don’t see how Lance could be much trade bait if he never sees the field here)
• B- The plan is for Dak to be extended one more year, give time to develop Lance, then make him the starter in 2025. ???? If there’s a plan it’s not at all very clear.
• C- The Cowboys somehow already know what they have (or don’t have in Lance) Or…they are going to find out in TC this year?

Honestly I would be fine moving on from Dak via a trade if this team was willing to do a rebuild similar to what the pack did with Jordan Love last year. The problems there would be 1. Jerry won’t do a “rebuild” and 2. We don’t know if Lance is good enough to hand the keys to the car yet.

So what is the plan for Trey Lance? Is this some grand 3 dimensional chess our GM is playing? Or is it a strange fantasy football move centered on throwing spaghetti on the wall and seeing what sticks? If there is some grand and brilliant plan here, I’m not seeing it.

Thoughts?

Several untruths are being stated as facts here. The first is the use of the word "murky". It's all a matter of perspective. Your perspective may be "murky" but that doesn't mean the powers that made that trade have a murky perspective. But you seem to assume their perspective is as "murky" as yours when they may have a clear vision for this young man.

Trey Lance is a part of the Cowboys practice squad. As such, he is assigned to assist in preparing the team for their next opponent. You must think this assignment is meaningless to say a thing like, "Trey Lance has yet to take a meaningful snap for the Cowboys". But your thinking is wrong. The practice squad serves a valuable purpose in the preparedness of this team.

This trade had nothing to do with Dak and as much was stated to the public when the trade was done. So why the questions? Do you not listen? You make so many assumptions that you just end up confusing yourself. The player was not added to this roster to be Dak's backup. He's not a replacement for Cooper Rush either. The plan all along was to add him to the practice squad and have him assist in that function.

It's as simple as that.

 

[Chuck 54]

Chuck, I’m gonna disagree with you on this one. A new great WR won’t help us get better in the playoffs. We must obtain beasts at DL, LB, OL and some new blood at RB. IMO, Without upgrades in those positions, we could obtain 4 All Pro WRs and we won’t be any better off.

Oh, I’m 100% in agreement with you. I wasn’t very clear; I threw in that part about wr meaning when Lamb signs a huge contract, it will be the time (this year or next) to draft a really good WR so he can be on a rookie contract throughout Lamb’s big one. That’s just about having a cheap #2.

Im 100 percent all about rebuilding the middle of our defense and finding a power back who can grind. Dak gets blamed for losing to the good teams, but I would love to have seen what he and Lamb would have done with a power run game and even some real NFL LBs on the defense. I think we can win with Dak if we can add a run game and a defense that can keep the game close against good teams by stopping the run. The defense needs to make offenses more 1 dimensional, and our offense needs to be less 1 dimensional. Then Dak has the skills to play well.

 

[DuncanIso]

They made the Lance trade in order to replace Dak, in case Dak failed again.

Because Dak is due mega $$$ and he blew up another playoff game. At home.

Dak has a failed career.

Time to cut bait.

 

[thunderpimp91]

Not recommending him to sacrifice millions of $. He will be offered vet minimum next year. He could make similar if not more starting in the USFL and get game experience.

Similar or more? You could almost field an entire USFL team for vet min salary in the NFL. And I promise you that he gets above vet min offers for 2025.

 

[Chuck 54]

Several untruths are being stated as facts here. The first is the use of the word "murky". It's all a matter of perspective. Your perspective may be "murky" but that doesn't mean the powers that made that trade have a murky perspective. But you seem to assume their perspective is as "murky" as yours when they may have a clear vision for this young man.

Trey Lance is a part of the Cowboys practice squad. As such, he is assigned to assist in preparing the team for their next opponent. You must think this assignment is meaningless to say a thing like, "Trey Lance has yet to take a meaningful snap for the Cowboys". But your thinking is wrong. The practice squad serves a valuable purpose in the preparedness of this team.

This trade had nothing to do with Dak and as much was stated to the public when the trade was done. So why the questions? Do you not listen? You make so many assumptions that you just end up confusing yourself. The player was not added to this roster to be Dak's backup. He's not a replacement for Cooper Rush either. The plan all along was to add him to the practice squad and have him assist in that function.

It's as simple as that.

To be fair, there had better be a plan for Lance to at least become the primary backup soon. If we traded a fourth round pick just to have a QB run the scout team, that would be a truly ridiculous trade. If he doesn’t push Cooper Rush off the roster this year, I’ll count it as a stupid use of a 4th round pick.

 

[Mikexike]

Crazy how none of that has translated.

its crazy because he's been hurt.

 

[thunderpimp91]

The player was not added to this roster to be Dak's backup. He's not a replacement for Cooper Rush either. The plan all along was to add him to the practice squad and have him assist in that function.

It's as simple as that.

A 4th round pick and $5M in cap space is a massive overpay for a practice squad player.

 

[Chasing6]

its crazy because he's been hurt.

So he was hurt in HS and college as well?

I was not aware of that.

 

[Mikexike]

So he was hurt in HS and college as well?

I was not aware of that.

Why do you always go back to his HS and college days? Its irrelevant.

 

[thunderpimp91]

Why do you always go back to his HS and college days? Its irrelevant.

Because obviously what someone does at 16 years old determines their value for the rest of their lives....duh.

 

[Chasing6]

Similar or more? You could almost field an entire USFL team for vet min salary in the NFL. And I promise you that he gets above vet min offers for 2025.

He could get something similar in the Canadian football league. More importantly he needs to invest in himself and get playing time. Never going to be a starter in the NFL on his current path.

 

[buybuydandavis]

Last August, seemingly out of nowhere, Jerry Jones apparently made a fairly big decision without consulting his HC: He traded a 4th round pick to the 49ers in exchange for the niners former first round QB Trey Lance, who the niners had clearly decided was a mistake. Approximately six months and an entire regular season later, a clear purpose for this trade is still somewhat unclear if not strange.

Trey Lance has yet to take a meaningful snap for the Cowboys and was never on the game day roster this past season. Last off-season, the Cowboys had signed backup QB Cooper Rush to a two year, $5,000,000 contract. Rush has one more year on that deal but it does have a fairly painless out if they choose to release him as an upcoming post June 1 cut.

Also in this mix of head scratchers is the fact that Lance goes into 2024 on the last year of his rookie deal before becoming an unrestricted FA.
So here are some of my questions about the Lance move:

• What was the primary purpose for obtaining Trey Lance? (A successor to Dak, leverage against Dak in contract negotiations, future trade bait with other teams?)
• Are the Cowboys following some kind of plan with him…or not?
• How can the Cowboys know what they have in Lance if they hang on to Cooper Rush as the backup?

Here are some possible scenarios/answers to those questions:

• A- Lance was obtained to give the Cowboys leverage and a possible replacement for Dak should the team decide to move on from Dak. (I don’t see how Lance could be much trade bait if he never sees the field here)
• B- The plan is for Dak to be extended one more year, give time to develop Lance, then make him the starter in 2025. ???? If there’s a plan it’s not at all very clear.
• C- The Cowboys somehow already know what they have (or don’t have in Lance) Or…they are going to find out in TC this year?

Honestly I would be fine moving on from Dak via a trade if this team was willing to do a rebuild similar to what the pack did with Jordan Love last year. The problems there would be 1. Jerry won’t do a “rebuild” and 2. We don’t know if Lance is good enough to hand the keys to the car yet.

So what is the plan for Trey Lance? Is this some grand 3 dimensional chess our GM is playing? Or is it a strange fantasy football move centered on throwing spaghetti on the wall and seeing what sticks? If there is some grand and brilliant plan here, I’m not seeing it.

Thoughts?

Considered a legitimate 1st round talent for a 4th. Given the cost of QBs, I don't think we spend *enough* on downroster QB development projects.

Keep em coming.

McCarthy is supposed to a be a QB Whisperer. If he can live up to that, he'd be gold. We should be giving him the chance to. Seeing what he can do.

 

[Chasing6]

Considered a legitimate 1st round talent for a 4th. Given the cost of QBs, I don't think we spend *enough* on downroster QB development projects.

Keep em coming.

McCarthy is supposed to a be a QB Whisperer. If he can live up to that, he'd be gold. We should be giving him the chance to. Seeing what he can do.

The best we could hope is he plays like Will Grier did last year in pre-season.

By the way, where is Will Grier now???

 

[JoeyBoy718]

If they really want to go all in on the QB position, this year is their best chance:

• Resign Dak for one more season (is he eligible for the franchise tag?)
• Keep Trey Lance
• Sign the best remaining QB in the 1st round (e.g. Bo Nix) since this year's class is deep and next year's won't be

That'll give you 3 potential QBs to build the franchise around. Of course they'd have to actually see what they have in Lance/Nix. They can just cut/trade Dak and throw the young guys to the wolves. Unless, of course, they believe in Dak. In which case, they should sign him up asap. But if they don't believe in Dak, then they shouldn't spend $60M on him and keep their young guys on the bench another year.

 

[Kwyn]

Last August, seemingly out of nowhere, Jerry Jones apparently made a fairly big decision without consulting his HC: He traded a 4th round pick to the 49ers in exchange for the niners former first round QB Trey Lance, who the niners had clearly decided was a mistake. Approximately six months and an entire regular season later, a clear purpose for this trade is still somewhat unclear if not strange.

Trey Lance has yet to take a meaningful snap for the Cowboys and was never on the game day roster this past season. Last off-season, the Cowboys had signed backup QB Cooper Rush to a two year, $5,000,000 contract. Rush has one more year on that deal but it does have a fairly painless out if they choose to release him as an upcoming post June 1 cut.

Also in this mix of head scratchers is the fact that Lance goes into 2024 on the last year of his rookie deal before becoming an unrestricted FA.
So here are some of my questions about the Lance move:

• What was the primary purpose for obtaining Trey Lance? (A successor to Dak, leverage against Dak in contract negotiations, future trade bait with other teams?)
• Are the Cowboys following some kind of plan with him…or not?
• How can the Cowboys know what they have in Lance if they hang on to Cooper Rush as the backup?

Here are some possible scenarios/answers to those questions:

• A- Lance was obtained to give the Cowboys leverage and a possible replacement for Dak should the team decide to move on from Dak. (I don’t see how Lance could be much trade bait if he never sees the field here)
• B- The plan is for Dak to be extended one more year, give time to develop Lance, then make him the starter in 2025. ???? If there’s a plan it’s not at all very clear.
• C- The Cowboys somehow already know what they have (or don’t have in Lance) Or…they are going to find out in TC this year?

Honestly I would be fine moving on from Dak via a trade if this team was willing to do a rebuild similar to what the pack did with Jordan Love last year. The problems there would be 1. Jerry won’t do a “rebuild” and 2. We don’t know if Lance is good enough to hand the keys to the car yet.

So what is the plan for Trey Lance? Is this some grand 3 dimensional chess our GM is playing? Or is it a strange fantasy football move centered on throwing spaghetti on the wall and seeing what sticks? If there is some grand and brilliant plan here, I’m not seeing it.

Thoughts?

I assumed it was to replace Rush and see what they have this coming season.

 

[GMO415]

Last August, seemingly out of nowhere, Jerry Jones apparently made a fairly big decision without consulting his HC: He traded a 4th round pick to the 49ers in exchange for the niners former first round QB Trey Lance, who the niners had clearly decided was a mistake. Approximately six months and an entire regular season later, a clear purpose for this trade is still somewhat unclear if not strange.

Trey Lance has yet to take a meaningful snap for the Cowboys and was never on the game day roster this past season. Last off-season, the Cowboys had signed backup QB Cooper Rush to a two year, $5,000,000 contract. Rush has one more year on that deal but it does have a fairly painless out if they choose to release him as an upcoming post June 1 cut.

Also in this mix of head scratchers is the fact that Lance goes into 2024 on the last year of his rookie deal before becoming an unrestricted FA.
So here are some of my questions about the Lance move:

• What was the primary purpose for obtaining Trey Lance? (A successor to Dak, leverage against Dak in contract negotiations, future trade bait with other teams?)
• Are the Cowboys following some kind of plan with him…or not?
• How can the Cowboys know what they have in Lance if they hang on to Cooper Rush as the backup?

Here are some possible scenarios/answers to those questions:

• A- Lance was obtained to give the Cowboys leverage and a possible replacement for Dak should the team decide to move on from Dak. (I don’t see how Lance could be much trade bait if he never sees the field here)
• B- The plan is for Dak to be extended one more year, give time to develop Lance, then make him the starter in 2025. ???? If there’s a plan it’s not at all very clear.
• C- The Cowboys somehow already know what they have (or don’t have in Lance) Or…they are going to find out in TC this year?

Honestly I would be fine moving on from Dak via a trade if this team was willing to do a rebuild similar to what the pack did with Jordan Love last year. The problems there would be 1. Jerry won’t do a “rebuild” and 2. We don’t know if Lance is good enough to hand the keys to the car yet.

So what is the plan for Trey Lance? Is this some grand 3 dimensional chess our GM is playing? Or is it a strange fantasy football move centered on throwing spaghetti on the wall and seeing what sticks? If there is some grand and brilliant plan here, I’m not seeing it.

Thoughts?

Bullet, I thought it was clear this was a leverage move. I'm not sure if Zach Wilson is any better. Perhaps DAL cam swap for Wilson.

 

[Chasing6]

Bullet, I thought it was clear this was a leverage move. I'm not sure if Zach Wilson is any better. Perhaps DAL cam swap for Wilson.

It was an Al Davis move.