Ian Rapoport Names Vikings as Possible Landing Spot for Trey Lance

Quarterback, Trey Lance, is a Minnesota kid who had one big year (2,786 YDS, 28 TD, 0 INT, 1,100 Rush YDS, 14 Rush TD) at North Dakota State University in 2019, quickly becoming the new small college darling of NFL draft pundits back in 2019. Then, COVID happened and Lance played just one more game for the Bison before he was picked #3 overall by the San Francisco 49ers two years later, in 2021 draft.

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