Dallas City News

There has been plenty of talk surrounding Dallas Cowboys backup quarterback Trey Lance this week following his preseason debut with the team against the Rams, and it was a mixed bag as his offense was held out of the end zone for four full quarters. Lance came into training camp and the preseason off of plenty of buzz about his work earlier in the offseason, trying to be a potential QB2 candidate with high trade value. It often takes an unfortunate injury to a projected starting QB to stir up any trade talks, and on Wednesday the first of those for this season occurred when the Minnesota Vikings announced rookie J.J. McCarthy will miss his first season after needing meniscus surgery.

The Vikings are now left with veteran Sam Darnold, Jaren Hall, and Nick Mullens on the QB depth chart. In their preseason opener against the Raiders, Hall saw the most action behind McCarthy, with Darnold only attempting eight passes. Having the most experience of this bunch, the Vikings were protecting Darnold to be either a Week 1 starter or reliable backup to McCarthy, but that equation has now changed. Darnold made one start for the San Francisco 49ers at the end of last season, but has started 18 games over the last three seasons with both the 49ers and Carolina Panthers. Over this same time frame, Mullens has just four starts and Hall had two last year for the Vikings.

For a team with the highest paid WR in the entire league in Justin Jefferson, all hope is not lost for the Vikings to field a competent offense with Darnold more than likely getting the first shot to do so. What Minnesota needs is a passer behind Darnold they can build trust in throughout the attrition of the season, something they’re well familiar with as they shuffled from Hall to trade acquisition Josh Dobbs, then Mullens and back to Hall over the final nine games of 2023 after losing Kirk Cousins for the season. This type of slow development in a player with draft pedigree and the ability to improvise with athletic ability out of the pocket is exactly what the Cowboys are working on with Lance. While his stock price isn’t exactly high after trying to show any of this development against the Rams, it won’t be long until he gets more live action on Saturday night against the Raiders.

The Raiders will then be a common preseason opponent for both the Vikings and Cowboys, giving the Vikings a chance to evaluate Lance and other QBs around the league (as well as their own passers on Saturday against the Eagles) before deciding the best course of action on the QB depth chart. Playing in a division with the conference contending Lions, upstart Packers, and a rejuvenated Bears team with first overall pick Caleb Williams, the Vikings likely aren’t going to send off any future assets or current players to acquire a quarterback that can help them win now. Having more insurance behind Darnold in a player like Lance would be wise though.

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Dobbs was the best of their backup options for a short stretch last year, becoming something of a league-wide sensation as he burst onto the scene and won his first two starts by making plays both through the air and with his feet. It isn’t out of the realm of possibilities to think Lance could do something similar for the Vikings, a team that wouldn’t need him as an immediate 17-game starter so long as Darnold remains healthy.

The Trey Lance acquisition has been a bit mysterious since the beginning for the Cowboys, trading for a player that can help them in a variety of ways. The regular season is quickly approaching though, and it hardly feels like Lance can do enough before it arrives to displace Cooper Rush as Dak Prescott’s trusted backup to win a few games in his absence. This makes a trade for Lance more likely, and having the former third overall pick end up with the team that just spent this year’s tenth overall selection on a player now out for the season is an idea worth pondering.