Obviously Trey Lance, the former third overall pick of the San Francisco 49ers from the 2023 NFL Draft, didn't envision being traded to a new team entering his third NFL season. However, when he heard Dallas was his next stop after a season-ending ankle injury opened the door for Brock Purdy, the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, to take control of the 49ers starting quarterback job, Lance, 23, experienced an emotion that had eluded him for much of his NFL career: joy.
"I really tried to not expect anything one way or another, but I can say that when I heard it was the Cowboys, I had a big smile on my face," Dallas' new quarterback said Tuesday. "I'm very excited to be here. It was a little bit surreal for me hearing that I was going to come here, knowing everything about this historic organization. Just compared to the 49ers, obviously you think of that as another one of the top-tier historic organizations. I believe that everything happens for a reason. I believe I'm here for a reason and, regardless of what it is, I'm here to try and find a way to help this team."
Building a new home in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex isn't a foreign idea for a player who went to high school in Minnesota, college at North Dakota State and began his professional football career in the Bay Area. Lance won the 2020 FCS Championship Game against James Madison in Frisco, where the The Star -- the Cowboys team headquarters is located -- and he trained with 2022 NFL MVP and Super MVP Patrick Mahomes in Fort Worth at TCU.
.@treylance09 & @PatrickMahomes putting in that offseason work together. 💯
— NFL (@NFL) April 6, 2023
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"It helps for sure," Lance said when asked about his experience in North Texas. "I got a little intro to the heat this summer. It wasn't anything like I expected."
His career hasn't began as expected, either, but now that he is "100 percent" after needing ankle surgery for an injury he suffered in Week 3 of the 2022 season, he is willing and able to put in as much additional work as Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy and his offensive staff will give him. Part of his training will involve observational learning, figuring out how to play quarterback at a Pro Bowl-caliber level from starter Dak Prescott.
"He welcomed me with open arms," said Lance when asked about his relationship with the two-time Pro Bowler. "It meant a lot to me. This business is crazy but, for me, I'm not looking forward, at all. I'm just trying to take it one day at a time. This guy has played at a very high level for a long time so, obviously, just tons of respect for him, as I think he deserves and gets from across the league. I'm just trying to learn everything I possibly can from him."
Step one in his development begins with learning the playbook and how to help elevate the Cowboys' quarterback position. Truly restarting at square one. Given that he has only four starts and 102 career pass attempts in his two NFL seasons, starting from scratch is an approach that just makes sense.
"First and foremost, I've gotta learn to have an opportunity to help anyone in the [QB] room and anyone on the offense," Lance said. "That's really what I'm focused on: Learning enough to be able to contribute. The football stuff speaks for itself. I'm still trying to learn Day 1 install. So for me, I obviously got a long way to go there. I'm definitely looking forward to being a sponge, soaking everything up I can from him [Prescott]."
Specifically, Lance wants to develop in every area of being a successful starting quarterback from on-field play to off-field leadership. Prescott said Saturday that the two met at a marketing event prior to the 2021 NFL Draft, so there was a small, preexisting relationship between the two prior to their reacquaintance on Tuesday.
"Everything," Lance said when asked about specific things he can learn from Prescott. "The type of person he is, I think first and foremost. I think everyone knows that with the Walter Payton Man of the Year and things like that. How he treats people, how I've seen him treat people just in this building these few days, the few conversations I've had with him. Just texting him when I had my ankle injury, things like that."
Outside of Prescott, Lance does have one familiar face in the Cowboys locker, his former college teammate of three seasons from 2018-2020, fullback Hunter Luepke. That connection should help ease his integration into the Cowboys locker room.
"Pretty excited that I get to be teammates with him again," Luepke said Saturday after the team's preseason finale against the Las Vegas Raiders. "I think Trey is probably one of the best leaders that I've been around in the locker room before. He always has positive energy, which really helps in the huddle no matter what kind of game how the game is going. So he really does that well and off the field, and he's a really special guy too."
So far, Lance is feeling good vibes as he readies to turn the page to the next chapter of NFL journey.
I believe that everything happens for a reason," Lance said. "I believe I'm here for a reason and, regardless of what it is, I'm here to try and find a way to help this team. This fresh start definitely feels great. I'm excited to be here."
