The Dallas Cowboys are taking on a relative "kid'' and hoping he can learn how to be an NFL quarterback. But before the Friday deal that brings Trey Lance from the 49ers to Big D in exchange for a fourth-round pick, former NFL GM Michael Lombardi offered an analysis that - while not only harsh but also goofy - should probably be tossed into the conversation.
To Lombardi, Lance is such a non-talent that it was apparent when Lance's "momma lifted him from the crib''?
Appearing on The GM Shuffle, those are the words Lombardi used describe the struggles of Lance, in his young career and in 49ers training camp. The Niners invested heavily here, taking Lance third in the first round after trading three first-round picks to Miami for the spot.
For a couple of days this week, he was the Niners' third-string QB, behind Brock Purdy and then Sam Darnold ... a steep drop from being billed as a "franchise quarterback.'' Now he's the Cowboys' third-stringer, behind Dak Prescott and Cooper Rush. (With Will Grier, slated to carry the load in the Saturday preseason finale against the Raiders, about to get cut.)
But "momma'' and "baby'' and "crib''? What are we doing here? The weird analogy from Lombardi feels awfully personal. But inside of the weirdness is a football evaluation that is troublesome.
The reality of Trey Lance: if a play doesn't goes the way he practiced, it breaks down. When his mom lifted him up from the crib, he didn't have that QB instinct. He won't win the backup QB spot based on what I've seen and heard.
— Michael Lombardi (@mlombardiNFL) August 15, 2023
Check out #GMShuffle at https://t.co/b4sYN4CC91 pic.twitter.com/SsDEIyqzJq
"As you go down this road with Lance it just becomes harder and harder and harder,'' Lombardi said. "At the end of the day, when his momma lifted him from the crib, he just didn't have that quarterback instinct ...He is not going to be the backup quarterback. I don't know what they're gonna do with him.''
What are the Cowboys going to do with him? There is a view here that there is "nothing to lose,'' and that will be the approach ... even in the face of our view that this whole arrangement is sort of weird. ...
But not quite as weird as the scouting evaluation of Trey Lance being attached to his "momma'' as a "baby'' in a "crib.''
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