Despite all of the recent speculation about the Minnesota Vikings being the likely destination for quarterback Trey Lance, that will not be happening anytime soon after the San Francisco 49ers reportedly traded the young signal-caller to the Dallas Cowboys on Friday in exchange for a 2024 fourth-round draft pick, according to NFL media's Tom Pelissero.
So, instead of continuing his NFL career with his hometown team, the Minnesota native will see if he can get things back on track as a backup behind Dak Prescott in Dallas.
Lance was recently beat out for the No. 2 quarterback job in San Francisco by Sam Darnold, and ever since then, many believed that was the end of the former No. 3 overall draft pick's time with the 49ers. Well, Friday's news confirmed everyone's speculation, as Lance's tenure in San Francisco lasted less than two seasons.
For the Vikings, any plans of developing a young quarterback can now all be made for rookie Jaren Hall. Drafted in the fifth round out of BYU earlier this year by Minnesota, Hall has the potential to eventually be a solid NFL quarterback, but he is in need of some fine-tuning first.
The Vikings not ending up with Lance also likely increases the chances of Kirk Cousins returning to Minnesota in 2024 as the team's starting quarterback. Cousins is currently in the final year of his contract, and his future status with the Vikings is up in the air.
If Minnesota doesn't end up re-signing Cousins after the upcoming season, then it's really anyone's guess about what they choose to do at the quarterback position in the future. Following Friday's news, however, we can likely cross Lance off of the list of potential starting signal-callers for the Vikings in 2024.