Trey Lance’s biggest criticism since being selected in the 2021 NFL draft was that he didn’t play enough football. It’s 2024 and he still can’t get on the field.

Yes, this is a San Francisco 49ers website, but considering how exhausting the entire 2021 draft was, you know we have to keep an eye on one of the biggest storylines in the entire league that year: No. 3 overall pick (which the 49ers traded future firsts for), Trey Lance. It’s also relevant to see if the 49ers cut their losses at the right time.

You heard it again and again during the brief starts he had with the 49ers that he needed to “play more football,” and you still hear it now that he’s with the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys traded a fourth-round pick to continue Lance’s development. At some point he would have to see the field if he had something, anything.

And he still can’t get on it. Probably when he should.

Cowboys starting quarterback Dak Prescott was a candidate for injured reserve. It appeared the Cowboys wouldn’t exercise that option, except Saturday it was reported that Prescott might need surgery. However that turns out, it’s clear he won’t play on Sunday. And it’s Cooper Rush who will fill in, not Trey Lance.

This is expected. Cooper Rush was named the second string quarterback to start the season. The Cowboys are 3-5, third in the NFC East, and with a brutal divisional matchup on Sunday. Yet the Cowboys don’t look like a playoff team, let alone one that can compete for a Super Bowl. Why don’t you start Lance? Why don’t you give him the development that everyone thinks is necessary?

And the obvious answer: they still think they can pull this off. And Trey Lance is still not done after more than three years. Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said the same thing:

‘He takes over all the representatives of the look team. It’s great in a room. I’m high on Trey Lance. He played a different system in college. We’ve gone to a little bit of a different system, especially taking the footwork from what we’re learning: the passing game is different,” McCarthy said, via Garrett Podell of CBS Sports.

So no, Lance. He still can’t get playing time, which is all he needs. Without Prescott, it would be a great opportunity, probably for the entire season, to put Trey Lance in and see what he has. The Cowboys disagree.

When we last left Trey Lance, he was traded to the Cowboys for a fourth-round pick. This was due to the rise of Brock Purdy, as you all know. It wasn’t about Trey Lance’s character or the locker room not accepting him. The 49ers simply had a better option at quarterback and no longer needed the development project (or time investment) that Lance would require.

Check out this video of the Cowboys game. Everyone came over to give him a hug.

Could the Cowboys have saved him? Who knows. But when they traded a fourth-round pick to get him out of the hands of the 49ers, many thought this was the fresh start, some even saying the 49ers didn’t give Lance much of a chance (despite the situations). In many ways, the 49ers dodged a bullet. Not only did they have Brock Purdy as their starting quarterback, they might not have been stuck with a drama similar to the Indianapolis Colts benching young quarterback Anthony Richardson for Joe Flacco.

If Trey Lance were to stick around if his current trajectory was any indication, the 49ers could very well go through the same thing — that is, if Brock Purdy didn’t show up. They probably wouldn’t have gotten anything in a trade either.

Trey Lance was an understandable risk, but many thought he would be a great quarterback for the 49ers given his development. The less he plays, even in times like these, shows how lucky the 49ers were to have Brock Purdy fall into their lap. Everyone wants to see him get a string of starts and play football, but on two teams he has failed to elevate himself from QB3 when selections are finalized at the start of the season.

It’s not something that should be a third overall pick from three years ago.