It has been widely assumed that the San Francisco 49ers would be moving toward the 2023 season with Brock Purdy and Trey Lance competing for the starting quarterback spot.
But in recent days, reports have surfaced that the team has been fielding trade offers for Lance from other teams.
It is unknown if the 49ers have any real interest in trading Lance, whom they gave up lots of draft capital for in order to select No. 3 in the 2021 NFL Draft, but one rumor has him going to the Minnesota Vikings.
NFL analyst Adam Schein believes they should try to acquire veteran QB Kirk Cousins in return for Lance.
.@AdamSchein explains why he thinks the 49ers ideal move is trading for Kirk Cousins.
“If San Francisco makes that kind of trade, we are talking about the San Francisco 49ers unequivocally being the best team and the team to beat in the NFL this season.” pic.twitter.com/pitogzjNhm
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) April 20, 2023
Cousins may not be an elite QB, but he has 11 years of NFL experience under his belt, not to mention four Pro Bowl selections and two in the last two seasons.
Schein’s argument is that Lance may have potential, but that at this point of his career, he simply cannot be trusted to pilot a team that is trying to win the Super Bowl right now.
Lance started 2022 as the Niners’ starter, but he suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Week 2, and once his replacement, Jimmy Garoppolo, went down in Week 13 with his own season-ending injury, rookie Brock Purdy filled in ably for the rest of the way.
Purdy is currently recovering from a torn UCL in his throwing elbow, and it isn’t known if he will be available for Week 1 this fall, let alone training camp.
Cousins started his career with the Washington Redskins when Kyle Shanahan, the Niners’ head coach, was the offensive coordinator under his father Mike Shanahan, and if the Niners were to acquire him, one would have to wonder if he would remain the starter after Purdy is fully recovered.
