Could Trey Lance's football career soon be headed up north?
The 49ers' No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft currently is a free agent after spending two seasons as the Dallas Cowboys' third-string quarterback. And while there hasn't appeared to be any interest in him on the open market in America yet, a Canadian Football League team reportedly has its eye on the 24-year-old.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders have added Lance to their negotiation list, TSN football insider Dave Naylor reported Wednesday, meaning the CFL team has exclusive negotiating rights with Lance should he ever decide to join the league. As noted by Naylor, Lance's father Carlton played for the Roughriders in 1993.
The @sskroughriders added QB Trey Lance - the #3 overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft — to their negotiation list on Monday of this week. Lance’s father, Carlton, is a former @sskroughriders cornerback. https://t.co/Dzv7K3PjYk
— Dave Naylor (@TSNDaveNaylor) March 26, 2025
Lance's NFL career has been turbulent to say the least, going from San Francisco's first-round pick and purported franchise quarterback to being traded out of the Bay just two years later. Injuries and Brock Purdy's 49ers ascension spelled doom for Lance, who has just five career starts to his name since being drafted.
After the 49ers traded Lance to the Cowboys for a fourth-round draft pick before the 2023 NFL season, he didn't see the field with Dallas during the regular season until 2024, where he appeared in four games -- one start -- and completed 25 of 41 passes for 266 yards and no touchdowns with one interception while recording 11 rushes for 41 yards on the ground.
"We took a shot a Trey and wanted to do that," Cowboys CEO Stephen Jones told The Dallas Morning News in February. "We think the world of Trey. But us having Dak [Prescott] signed up for the long-term, I think he's probably going to be looking for something different."
It remains to be seen if Lance will suit up for an NFL team again in the future. But it's clear the Roughriders are willing to negotiate with him if things in the U.S. don't work out.
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