Since then, the Marshall, MN native has struggled to find his footing at the next level (who would have seen that coming?). Now, Lance finds himself as the 3rd QB on the 49ers depth chart, behind former 7th rounder, Brock Purdy and mediocre veteran, Andy Dalton. He’s reportedly on the trade block and wasn’t at Niners’ practice on Wednesday.

Trey Lance to the Vikings?

And guess who was the only team leading NFL insider, Ian Rapoport (NFL Network) mentioned as a great landing spot for Lance, were he to be traded? His hometown Minnesota Vikings, of course (let’s be honest, we wouldn’t be here if it was any other team).

As the #49ers weigh options for Trey Lance, calling his hometown team, the #Vikings (who were a rumored destination before the Draft) makes sense. Nothing is impossible, but MIN has a backup in Nick Mullens and drafted rookie QB in Jaren Hall. Post-draft, these deals are harder.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 23, 2023

Who knows what part of his soul Rapoport had to sell in order to tweet this for Trey Lance, his agent or anyone in the San Francisco 49ers organization because I cannot see a scenario in which the Vikings take on Lance’s $9.3 million cap hit in 2023 unless John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan are willing to give him away.

Sure, the Vikings are in QB flux beyond this season. But there are better avenues to solving those future problems than trading for Trey Lance. Extending Kirk Cousins is a better option. Moving up as far as possible in next year’s draft, to pick a QB of the future, is a better option. Hell, handing the ball to Nick Mullins would be a better option.

Unless the Niners are willing to take on part of Lance’s Salary and sell him off for a future 7th round pick or something similar, dealing for him just doesn’t make sense if you’re Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and the Minnesota Vikings.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

A few hours later, Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk.com) confirmed that one of those teams is the Minnesota Vikings. In an article recently posted at PFT, Florio reports that the Lance trade talks between the Niners and Vikings happened at the NFL Combine.

At this year’s Scouting Combine, there were rumors of a potential Kirk Cousins trade from Minnesota to San Francisco. Those rumors may have come from the reality that the 49ers and Vikings had discussions about another quarterback. Per a league source, the two teams talked about Trey Lance.

Mike Florio – ProFootballTalk.com

Trey Lance link makes sense

Mike’s source did not know whether or not the two sides are still having discussions regarding Lance, but it’s clear the 49ers are willing to move him and accept Brock Purdy as their future at quarterback. Meanwhile, the Vikings are clearly thinking about a future beyond Kirk Cousins.

They also appear destined to play Kirk under his current lame duck contract in 2023-24 and they have put in all of the homework in on this year’s quarterback draft class. It’s not surprising to know they’ve called on Trey Lance, if he is indeed available for the taking. In fact, Kwesi wouldn’t be doing his job if he hasn’t.

Would you trade for Trey Lance?

Lance was drafted 3rd overall in the 2021 NFL Draft but nobody has seen him play a large sample size (797 YDS, 5 TD’s, 3 INT’s in 8 NFL games) of football games since 2019. That was when he threw for 2,700 yards, 28 touchdowns and 0 interceptions — to go along with 1,100 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground — as a Sophomore at (FCS) North Dakota State University. The same school and fanbase that parades daily to celebrate 17 National JV Championships.

Is it possible that the Vikings see Lance as their future at starting quarterback? Probably not, but would he be worth a flyer 5th round pick? Absolutely. A 3rd round pick? There may be some articles on the internet that suggest he’s worth neither…. What matters is what Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell think he is worth.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

The Minnesota Vikings hold the 14th pick in the first round of next week’s NFL Draft. Who they add to their roster that night, however, will probably be a mystery until Roger Goodell walks up to the podium in Cleveland and announces, “With the __ pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings select…”.

Spielman and his staff have reportedly done a lot more quarterback scouting for this year’s class, which means the Vikings have opened their search for Kirk Cousins’ future successor. Could our “QB of the future” really be on his way to Minnesota before we hit Saturday next week? Hey, a guy can dream, right?.

Well according to Darren Wolfson of SKOR North and KSTP, North Dakota State’s Trey Lance (who’s widely expected to go early in the first round) is absolutely on their radar. Should he fall, Doogie told “Mackey and Judd” (SKOR North) on Thursday that he expects the Vikings to pounce.

Darren Wolfson: “I think if Trey Lance is staring them in the face at 14, I think they would pull the trigger.”

— Vikes (@vikesinsider) April 24, 2021

The #Vikings are not scheduled to be at home state stud Trey Lance’s second Pro Day tomorrow. OC Klint Kubiak is said to have done extensive work on Lance (and many other QBs). Realistically, he’s not getting to MN at 14. pic.twitter.com/eg02H5lYGl

— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) April 18, 2021

I doubt it

The Minnesota Vikings aren’t drafting a quarterback on Thursday. They have too many holes to fill and what’s on the line for Spielman and Zimmer in 2021 is too important not to fill them, in favor of a QB who can’t help you until 2023. Plus, the Vikings expect Lance and the other top-5 QB’s to be off the board at #14. Doogie made that clear yesterday on Twitter too.

Don’t feel bad for Rick because I don’t think he’s upset. Lance off the board before #14 would mean no pressure to take an unproven quarterback who (almost) hasn’t played football since 2019 and who’s never really proven himself vs top college competition. The more QB’s that come off the board ahead of them also means more talent falling at other positions.

Those inside the Vikings organization know better than to trigger “Bison Nation”, though. The “we love Trey” narrative coming out of Eagan is the right one to send. Having NDSU football fans in your DM’s is never a good thing. Ever. No matter the situation.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

NDSU quarterback, Trey Lance, is a God (capital-G) in the eyes of Bison fans. Their delusion makes the relationship between Skip Bayless and Tim Tebow look normal… Yes, Lance can throw an ok pass and run like there’s no tomorrow, but they are crowning this guy as the #1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft already.

We’re talking about another Division II (maybe DIII – AA, I can’t remember) college football QB, who is beating college football JV teams every weekend. Didn’t we learned our lesson with Carson Wentz?

How do you take anything about the Bison seriously, when claims like this regularly find the internet?

where do bison fans get their drugs..? asking for a friend. https://t.co/jcAEHpYB9h

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) June 23, 2020

The latest person to fall victim to the Trey Lance hype, is Fansided writer, Nicholas McGee. Nick wrote a piece on the top five teams Trey Lance could “STAR” for in the NFL. He didn’t write about the teams Trey might fit well with or who might draft him… but instead, who he could “STAR” for.

Eric says I use too many gifs so I won’t place one here but if I could (instead of writing this extra sentence about nothing), I’d place a “calm down, calm down” one. Hold your horses (or should I say Bison), pal. Let’s bring the Trey Lance story back down to Earth.

Here are the five teams we believe Lance could actually “star” on, come 2021.

OTTAWA REDBLACKS — CANADIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE

If you can’t make it in the NFL, what is the next logical step? The Canadian Football League!

The NFL’s whacky and confounding cousin, the CFL is the perfect spot for Lance to land. The Redblacks would be ecstatic to have Lance too. Having gone 3-15 in 2019, they are the perfect fit for mediocrity.

It’s been a rough year for the @REDBLACKS

I guess we’ve had our share of Grey Cup appearances lately though so we shouldn’t complain.

Here’s a video of the fans going on the field after the game yesterday @TD_Place #Redblacks #CFL #Ottawa #RNation #OttawaRedblacks pic.twitter.com/N8XanVkZXT

— Ottawa REDBLACKS Fan (@REDBLACKS_FAN) September 30, 2019

It wouldn’t be too unfamiliar for Lance either. As he is used to playing against sub-par competition and high-school and college has-beens. Throw in the cold Canadian winters and its nothing Lance hasn’t dealt with in Fargo.

MITSUBISHI LIONS — JAPAN X LEAGUE

Who says Japan isn’t good at American football? They even have a bizarre college league!

Another excellent fit for Lance, the Mitsubishi Lions only won one of their seven games in 2019. With Lance’s “athleticism”, the X League wouldn’t know what hit them… until they Google “DII College Football USA.

【1日1アメ?】
オール三菱ライオンズTE87田島広大
185cm97kgのサイズを生かして力づくでファーストダウン獲得。体を張ったプレーがチームの士気を上げる。@mitsubishilions @wasedafootball #アメフト #xリーグ pic.twitter.com/gE3eyevXIC

— xleague ( Xリーグ ) (@xl1996) September 5, 2019

MINNESOTA VIXEN — WOMEN’S FOOTBALL ALLIANCE

Does Lance want to stay close to his family in Marshall, MN? Who knows? But if he does, the Minnesota Vixen would gladly take him as their next roster addition.

This would also be his best shot at immediate glory. As the Vixen have been pretty good in recent years. Having won the conference title in 2018 and going 7-2 in 2019. What makes this an even better fit is that the WFA is split into divisions just like college football. And with the Vixen playing in Division II, that is on par for what Lance is used to competing against.

Hell, they even have a table in the sports pavilion at the State Fair! Maybe Bison fans can get that long-awaited autograph!

Stuffed by #96 Red Bryant!

Don’t miss big plays by players like Bryant of the Minnesota Vixen!

Get your tickets for the next home game:https://t.co/RqUeeQ6Ho3#womenstacklefootball#WFAFootball #RicciMediaGroup pic.twitter.com/6J1dqA13OM

— Minnesota Vixen ? (@MN_Vixen) May 6, 2019

NFL EUROPE

Although the NFL abandoned NFL Europe 13 years ago (2007), who is to say Lance couldn’t be a catalyst for starting it back up?

It would be a prime opportunity for Lance to take a gap year after college and see the world! Backpacking through Europe and learning how to play soccer. I can only imagine it would help his footwork.

via GIPHY

MINNESOTA FLAG FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Whether it is the state-of-the-art facilities this league has, compared to what he has now at NDSU or the multiple competition levels he’d have to choose from; Lance could jump right into the MNFFL and have blast! The league is all about fun, according to their website.

This would also be his best shot at an immediate championship. With 6v6 play, it would highlight all of his running abilities. Although, I hear the secondaries in the MNFFL have better hands than what the Bison have experienced in the MVC.

Any of these teams are perfect for Lance to join. It won’t keep him in the spotlight, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Is it?

Jack Kewitsch | Minnesota Sports Fan

First, let’s take a look at the current quarterback situation. As we all know, Kirk Cousins is the starting quarterback for the foreseeable future. The Vikings did restructure his contract to lower the cap for 2020 by extending his previous three year deal an additional two years. Cousins is under contract through the 2022 season where he’s scheduled to make $45 million. Unless the NFL salary cap spikes significantly or the Vikings win the Super Bowl in 2021, don’t expect to see Kirk Cousins in a Vikings uniform in 2022.

That leads us to potentially find his replacement in the 2021 draft. It’s a talented quarterback class led by Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence and Ohio State’s Justin Fields. Hopefully the Vikings won’t hold a top five pick in 2021 but instead pick late in the first round where Tanner Morgan or Trey Lance could fall right into their lap.

Which QB prospect fits the Vikings best? I’ll let you decide.

Trey Lance/QB/NDSU 

6-3/224

RSo

Marshall, MN 

In Lance’s first full year as a starter, he posted stats you only see in video games. He had zero turnovers while passing for 2,786 yards and carrying the rock for an additional 1,100 yards. NDSU’s level of competition was weak in 2019, resulting in a 16-0 season and the FCS National Championship. NDSU’s previous two quarterbacks have been drafted; the Eagles took Carson Wentz second overall in 2016 and the Chargers selected Easton Stick 166th overall in 2019. Both were starters for the Bison for multiple seasons.

Trey Lance would be the perfect candidate to backup a veteran quarterback for a year or two before taking over. Lance’s pocket presence and poise rival that of Russell Wilson and his overall play is similar to Tyrod Taylor. Trey Lance should have another impressive season in 2020 which should prove to NFL scouts and GMs that he’s worth a first round grade.

The sample size for Lance is small but Vikings fans should watch NDSU football when they get the chance; he could end up in purple. 

Draft Site predicts the Vikings will take Lance with the 25th overall pick.

Tanner Morgan

6-2/215

RJr

Union, KY 

Tanner Morgan and the Gophers took the Big 10 Conference by storm. In his first year as the full time starter, Morgan posted a very impressive stat line with 3,253 passing yards and 30 touchdowns but most importantly, led the Gophers to an 11-2 record including a victory over Auburn in the Outback Bowl. 

Morgan took a huge leap in not only his production but with his fundamentals as well. Quickly developing into a polished passer while hardly turning the ball over is what Tanner Morgan really excelled at. I can guarantee Minnesota’s wins over Penn State and Auburn have QB coaches at the next level excited about watching Tanner Morgan in 2020. He has the big arm and strength to be a starter in the NFL. Tanner Morgan’s NFL comparison is a mix between Ryan Fitzpatrick and Jacoby Brissett. 

Just like I mentioned with Trey Lance, Tanner Morgan’s best recipe for success would be to “redshirt” for a year with the right team. CBS Sports predicts Tanner Morgan to go 23rd overall. A spot before the Vikings. MSF has more here.

Both Lance and Morgan need to avoid regressing and prove that their 2019 seasons were not flukes. This is just the start of an 11 month twitter war between Gopher fans and Bison fans. I’ll grab the popcorn

Trey Lance is not as good as Tanner Morgan. End of discussion.

— Nick Stelzner (@B1Gfootballdude) January 12, 2020

Trey Lance > Tanner Morgan pic.twitter.com/ynRO2176HT

— Andrew Grieve (@AGrieveNDSU95) November 30, 2019

I would be very very happy to see either quarterback land in Minnesota (again). 

Ski-U-〽️ah. Go Bison ??

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SkolMemes | Minnesota Sports Fan