It’s easy to forget the Trey Lance trade. Heck, the 49ers front office want you to forget the Trey Lance trade. We’re almost three years removed from one of the worst trades in NFL history, but one which has been largely ignored or hand-waved away because current performance trumps languishing in history.
That said, when you lose the Super Bowl twice in four years there’s a tendency to search for answers. To decode why this wasn’t enough. Outside of coaching miscues, injuries and flubbed plays is an ever-present lingering feeling that San Francisco was missing something. Something they could have had — if only they didn’t trade up for Trey Lance.
The trade package itself wasn’t unheard of for a jump in the top three, but the timing was beyond confusing. Making the move a full month before the draft began let the entire league know their intentions, because it was abundantly clear a team only makes this move if they’re after a quarterback. Sprinkle in that the trade came immediately following Zach Wilson’s workout and it almost seemed too obvious that the Niners wanted Wilson.
