The story of Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers is well known — Mr. Irrelevant shocked the league by leading his team to a Super Bowl. Upon his arrival in the NFL, the former Iowa State QB shared a locker room with a player who would later become Dak Prescott’s backup with the Dallas Cowboys — a teammate Purdy remembers fondly from their time together in the Bay Area.
The path taken by the 49ers’ current signal-caller was quite the opposite of that of Trey Lance — a player who entered the league with sky-high expectations. Selected with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the former North Dakota State standout didn’t enjoy the same fortune as his future teammate would just a short time later.
However, in a recent conversation with the media, Purdy made it clear that his relationship with Lance during their time together on the team was a strong and positive one.
“It’s tough, because Trey and I are tight, dude,” he said during a recent appearance on the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast, via David Bonilla of 49erswebzone.com. “Absolutely, we’re boys, and we’re bros.”
Head coach Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers talks with his quarterbacks Trey Lance #5 and Brock Purdy #13 during work outs in training camp at SAP Performance Facility on August 04, 2023 in Santa Clara, California.
“I wanted nothing but the best for him, and I know he wanted that for me,” Purdy said. “But that’s just how this business goes and all that. When it did happen, we’re about to play our preseason game against the Chargers, and right before the game, they announced [the trade of Lance to the Cowboys], and I didn’t really know how to act or what to think. I was just like, ‘Man, I hope he can go to Dallas and compete and have a great opportunity.’”
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A bond that remains
Brock Purdy’s impressive performances since bursting onto the scene ultimately led San Francisco to make a franchise-shifting decision — sending Trey Lance to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a fourth-round pick, where he would compete for a backup role behind Dak Prescott.
Despite the situation, the current 49ers leader admitted that he maintains a good relationship with his former teammate, and that the two don’t discuss the specifics of the trade that sent Lance to Dallas.
“We’ve just texted each other, like, ‘Hey, dude, hope you’re doing good,’ like, randomly throughout the season, offseason, or whatever. ‘Hope you’re doing good,’ this and that. It’s really just been that,” Purdy said. “We haven’t really gotten to the details of, ‘Hey, how do you feel with this happening?’ or whatever. We just stay away from that.”
A new opportunity for Lance
Having a player of Dak Prescott’s caliber ahead of him on the depth chart made it extremely difficult for Lance to find playing time during his stint with the Cowboys. Fortunately for him, a new opportunity now presents itself ahead of the next NFL season, as he joined the Los Angeles Chargers to share a locker room with Justin Herbert.
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