Teams have reportedly called about making a trade for San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance and the Minnesota Vikings were reportedly one of them.
Less than a month ago, ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio revealed that "there was some chatter" at this year's NFL Scouting Combine about the Minnesota Vikings potentially trading quarterback Kirk Cousins to the San Francisco 49ers. Now, Florio is reporting that the trade discussions between these two teams also included 49ers quarterback Trey Lance.
Lance being involved in a potential Cousins to San Francisco trade also became a little more believable on Wednesday when NFL Media's Ian Rapoport shared that the 49ers "have received inquiries from several teams" this offseason about acquiring Lance.
Knowing this, in addition to the new info from Florio, the chances are very high that Minnesota and San Francisco have had trade talks that have included both Cousins and Lance this offseason.
Should the Minnesota Vikings trade for San Francisco 49ers QB Trey Lance?
Around this time two years ago, Lance was regarded as one of the top quarterback prospects available in the 2021 NFL Draft. The 49ers ended up selecting him with the No. 3 overall pick in 2021, but since then, the Minnesota native has only appeared in a total of eight games.
During this offseason, multiple reports have indicated that San Francisco would prefer to move ahead with Brock Purdy as their starting signal-caller over Lance. So how much longer will the former top-five draft pick remain with the 49ers?
Theoretically, the Vikings don't have to send Cousins to San Francisco if they want to acquire Lance. Minnesota could have the young quarterback sit for a year to learn the offense and then take over when Cousins' contract expires in 2024.
However, that would also give the Vikings one less year to take advantage of Lance's rookie contract. So it would probably make more sense for Minnesota to figure out a way to move on from Cousins and make Lance their immediate starter if they are able to acquire the young passer from the 49ers before the start of the 2023 season.
Whatever the Vikings' interest in Lance might be, it's becoming more and more clear as each day passes that his time with San Francisco is likely coming to an end sooner than later.