How Cowboys' Trey Lance is working to improve ahead of 2024 season

For an article published on Monday, Jon Machota of The Athletic detailed how Dallas Cowboys backup quarterback Trey Lance is working to improve his footwork and to grow "more comfortable playing in the West Coast offense" ahead of what may be his final season with the club. 

"We’re working on a couple things fundamentally, just some of the drops he had done [with the San Francisco 49ers] don’t correlate to what we do here," Cowboys quarterbacks coach Scott Tolzien said about Lance. "And there’s no wrong way in that, there’s just different ways to skin the cat there." 

The 49ers grabbed Lance via the third overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft. He made just four career starts and attempted a total of 102 regular-season passes before he suffered a campaign-ending ankle injury in September 2022. He then lost the San Francisco starting job to Brock Purdy. 

The Cowboys acquired Lance for a 2024 fourth-round draft pick in late August of last year and had him complete a redshirt 2023 season as starter Dak Prescott guided the club to the division title.

While Prescott is in the final year of his contract and may not be close to signing an extension, Dallas declined the fifth-year team option for 2025 attached to Lance's rookie deal earlier this offseason. 

"Trey is super coachable, so it’s been awesome working with him," Tolzien continued. "It’s not just hearsay for him, he works at it, whether he’s with us or on his own time. It’s obvious that he works at it and we’re appreciative of that."

Lance will compete with career backup Cooper Rush for Dallas' QB2 job later this summer but probably will only see the field during the 2024 season for mop-up duties or if Prescott goes down with an injury. 

Tolzien noted that Prescott has been a positive for Lance since last September even though the 24-year-old theoretically could replace the veteran atop the Cowboys' depth chart depending on all that occurs over the next nine months or so. 

"He goes out of his way, on a play maybe that he has a long history with to maybe teach (Lance) some of the nuances within," Tolzien said about Prescott. "Beyond that, just teaching him the ropes, things that he’s used in the past (that have helped) him, both fundamentally and approach-wise."

A team in Dallas' situation often would want to get a look at a young signal-caller such as Lance before the expiration of his contract. 

However, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Cowboys tied for third among the betting favorites at +700 odds to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LIX. Such information serves as a reminder that Dallas is a win-now team not thinking beyond February 2025. 

With that said, Lance could spark some interesting future conversations if he impresses during preseason games and Prescott stays in the final year of his contract through the winter.