Trey Lance wins Chargers backup QB job: Former No. 3 pick beats out Taylor Heinicke, DJ Uiagalelei
After flaming out with the 49ers, Lance may have found a home with the Chargers
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As the Los Angeles Chargers trimmed their roster to 53 players on Tuesday, they decided to carry just two quarterbacks. With the release of Taylor Heinicke and DJ Uiagalelei, that means former No. 3 overall pick Trey Lance has earned the right to back up Justin Herbert.
Lance exhibited growth in his three preseason outings with the Chargers, completing 56.1% of his passes for 334 yards, two touchdowns and zero turnovers. It's possible he may have found a home with Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman after a rough start to his pro career.
Lance spent the last two seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, but was the third quarterback on the depth chart behind Dak Prescott and Cooper Rush. He started just one game for Dallas, the regular-season finale in 2024.
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The North Dakota State product was once viewed as the future of the San Francisco 49ers. General manager John Lynch traded three first-round picks and a third-rounder to move up from No. 12 overall to No. 3 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, where San Francisco selected Lance over Mac Jones and Justin Fields.
Lance was handed the keys to Kyle Shanahan's offense in 2022, but suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the second game of the year. After Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a season-ending injury of his own in Week 13 that year, it opened the door for a seventh-round pick by the name of Brock Purdy. Purdy never let go of the starting role and Lance was then traded to the Cowboys that following offseason after playing a total of eight games with four starts for San Francisco.
Lance was viewed as a raw yet talented prospect in 2021, as he played just one full season at the FCS level before declaring for the draft. It clearly took him some time to find his footing in the league, but he may have done just that in Los Angeles. The Chargers signed him to a one-year deal back in April and he was able to beat out Heinicke, a seven-year veteran with 29 career starts, for a roster spot.
