Nick Wright slams 49ers for trying to trade Trey Lance after wasting '$100M worth of NFL resources' to draft him - "It is a terrible process"

Trey Lance was dropped to third quarterback on the San Francisco 49ers depth chart on Wednesday, with head coach Kyle Shanahan making Sam Darnold the immediate backup to Brock Purdy. Lance's downfall with the franchise happened due to injuries, which hampered his development throughout the first two seasons.

Fox Sports analyst Nick Wright criticized the 49ers' quarterback plan harshly, especially after they traded so many resources in order to acquire Lance and he's now the third quarterback on the depth chart.

"It is a terrible process. If you spend $100 million worth of NFL resources on a player, and then a guy who has had six years and 60 starts for us all to know that he stinks, and says "we value him more", that means your process is broken. If in the meantime, you stumbled backward into Brock Purdy, maybe that'll save you, but your process is broken. If you drive your fancy car off a cliff and land next to a hidden treasure, doesn't mean it was a good idea. It just means you got lucky."

Can Trey Lance save his career?

Trey Lance's situation in the NFL took a rather unfortunate path. Some of it was planned, with Jimmy Garoppolo still set to lead the franchise in 2021 during Lance's rookie year - he was believed to have immense potential but needed time to develop it. Garoppolo took the team to an unexpected NFC Championship Game run.

But things are not encouraging after two seasons in the NFL. A serious ankle injury, the rise of Brock Purdy and his slow development (due to injuries, of course) left Trey Lance in an uncomfortable position for 2023. Not even the franchise that moved many assets to trade up in the 2021 Draft and pick him sees him now as the player of the future, a position that Purdy occupies and enjoys the prestige of the coaching staff.

When Lance took the field in the preseason, the last thing he looked like was an NFL-ready starting quarterback. He needs to find himself again as a player if he wants to save his career. He's now the third-string quarterback after Sam Darnold.