Cowboys rumor: Trey Lance could be traded to Vikings for draft pick

Maybe the Dallas Cowboys will be able to flip Trey Lance after all.

The Cowboys stunned the football world when they acquired QB Trey Lance, the third pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, via trade last August. Now there’s a rumor that Dallas could be on the sending end of another Lance trade, this time with a team in desperate need of a quarterback in the Minnesota Vikings.

The rumor comes from Rich Eisen, a longtime NFL personality and current backbone of the NFL Network. He doesn’t take credit for the idea, but rather that it was talk he overheard during last week’s Scouting Combine.

Does this idea have any legs? Well, that certainly depends on how much the Vikings might like Lance compared to other prospects in the 2024 draft class or free agency. But with Kirk Cousins not under contract and not much indicating that Minnesota is looking to re-sign him, a new QB era appears to be dawning there. With only Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall currently signed, the future isn’t bright on the current roster.

With Lance having already been in the NFL for three years, he may not seem like a future-minded asset either. But it’s worth noting that Lance only turns 24 this May. He’s actually a little younger than current top QB prospects like Bo Nix and MIchael Penix Jr. from the current class.

The real issue is if Lance, who got discarded by the 49ers after two years and didn’t get to throw a pass for Dallas in 2023, still has any stock value to other teams. One thing that could attract Vikings over others is that Lance was a Minnesota native through high school, though he played college ball for North Dakota State. Still, little things like that never hurt with your local fans.

The Cowboys should certainly be interested in flipping Lance for a draft asset. If they could get back a Day 2 pick for him as Eisen proposed, that would be a great return for the fourth-rounder they sent to San Francisco. Trading Lance would also wipe him cleanly from their 2024 salary cap, adding about $5.3 million in space. Dallas still has Cooper Rush signed up for one more year.

Obviously Minnesota would be significantly more interested in Lance in a world where Kirk Cousins leaves them in free agency. For what it is worth on Monday evening Pro Football Talk reported that there is a lot of chatter about Kirk heading to the Atlanta Falcons. That would theoretically help the Cowboys in this regard.

We can’t get into the specifics, for now. But we’re getting very credible indications that Cousins is seriously considering moving his family to Atlanta. Which would mean, obviously, that he’d be signing with the Falcons.

The Falcons have always been the top alternative to the Vikings for Cousins, who becomes an unrestricted free agent next Wednesday. And for good reason. His wife, Julie, grew up in nearby Alpharetta, Georgia. Her parents still live there.

That said, Dallas could be motivated to hang on to Lance for its own future. Again, he’s the same age as some of the top QB prospects who will be entering the league as rookies this year. Depending on how negotiations go with Dak Prescott this offseason, maybe the Cowboys would like having Lance around for a little leverage.

This certainly could all be talk, but at least it’s coming from a reputable source in Rich Eisen. Picking up Trey Lance last year seemed out of character for the Cowboys, but if they flip him for a higher draft now it would make more sense. With free agency nearly upon us and the draft not far behind, this is just another interesting wrinkle for Dallas’ critical 2024 offseason.