Trey Lance’s NFL journey has been anything but smooth. Back in 2021, the 49ers bet big on him, trading away three first-round picks to move up and draft what they hoped would be their next franchise QB – the long-awaited answer to the post-Kaepernick era. But things didn’t go as planned. After three underwhelming seasons, San Francisco shipped him off to Dallas for just a fourth-round pick. Then, this past April, Lance landed with the Chargers on a modest one-year deal, his career at a crossroads.
Fast forward to tonight’s Hall of Fame Game, where Lance finally looked like the player the 49ers thought they were getting. Poised, accurate, and most noticeably happy, he carved up the Lions’ defense with the kind of confidence he rarely showed in San Francisco. So what changed? According to 49ers insider Grant Cohn, the answer is simple: Jim Harbaugh didn’t try to remake him. Instead, he just let Trey be Trey. And suddenly, the QB the Niners gave up on is starting to look like the one they once believed in.
But here’s the twist nobody saw coming: That same QB who looked lost in red and gold just delivered a performance that has the entire NFL asking tough questions. As the Chargers dominated the Lions 34-7 in the Hall of Fame Game, Lance didn’t just play well – he resurrected the electric potential that made San Francisco trade three first-round picks for him in the first place. The transformation was impossible to ignore. Those same throws that used to sail high in Santa Clara? Pinpoint lasers. The hesitation that haunted his 49ers tape? Gone. Even his sideline demeanor told the story – where once stood a frustrated prospect now beamed a QB finally free to play his game.
The 49ers messed up with Trey Lance. pic.twitter.com/dHYw7xJJv2
— Grant Cohn (@grantcohn) August 1, 2025
49ers insider Grant Cohn put it bluntly: “The 49ers messed up. Trey Lance had his Chargers debut tonight in preseason. And he looked great: 13 to 20 for 120 yards, two touchdowns, and a quarterback rating of 114. Where was this when he was on the 49ers?” The answer might sting for Niners fans. While Kyle Shanahan tried forcing Lance into a read-option system that never fit his skillset, Harbaugh simply put him under center and let him do what made him a star – play-action rollouts, rhythm throws, and the pro-style offense he dominated in college.
This is a developing story…
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