By giving Jerry Jones’ office a brief call, the Lions can add Jared Goff insurance. The backup quarterback position for the Detroit Lions is evenly divided between Nate Sudfield and Hendon Hooker.
Due to injuries, the former missed his entire first campaign. Since being drafted by Washington in 2016, the latter has made six appearances in NFL games. In the event that Jared Goff is sidelined, the Lions need a better insurance policy, even if Hooker performs well in training camp.
The San Francisco 49ers so ably demonstrated a few years ago that the backup quarterback position is more crucial than ever.
When their signal-callers for the Pro Bowl are injured, the strongest teams can usually survive.
The Lions may choose to wait and see how the Hooker experiment plays out, hoping Goff stays healthy.
Alternatively, Detroit might explore the trade market to find a more agreeable QB2. A Texas heartland favorite of Jerry Jones’s is one possible choice.
At the end of the season, Trey Lance will be a free agent and is buried on the Dallas Cowboys depth chart. It should not be too difficult to get him to Detroit.
Here’s what a trade might look like.
Cowboys-Lions trade to put Trey Lance behind Jared Goff in Detroit QB room
Although the Lions do not own a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the right combination of lesser picks will have to do in this case; a fifth-round pick and the Cowboys’ own seventh-round pick should be enough to get Jerry Jones on the phone and having a conversation. The first instinct is to give up a fourth-round pick, which is exactly what Dallas gave up for Lance last summer.
Here, a few significant variables are at work. The part about free agency first. Lance is just a one-year rental, so the Cowboys shouldn’t anticipate getting top dollar for him.
Additionally, Lance has made four starts in his first three seasons, so Dallas doesn’t really have much of a resume to work with. However, the Cowboys must give the future serious thought. Jared Goff recently inked a big long-term deal with Detroit.
At least the next four years will see him start at quarterback for the Lions. Dak Prescott, who is legally eligible to enter free agency in the spring, and the Cowboys are engaged in an obstinately drawn-out negotiating process.
Dallas has priceless insurance in Lance if it can’t get Prescott on a long-term basis. Re-signing him shouldn’t be too difficult, and Dallas most likely traded for him to observe firsthand how a former top-3 pick developed.
Although Lance shouldn’t be the Cowboys’ backup quarterback, all options are open if Dallas gets overly sentimental about Prescott’s contract demands. If Lance were to start the next season, Jones’ previous payment of only a fourth-round pick would have been justified.
Therefore, the uncertainty surrounding the Cowboys themselves may raise the price or prevent Lance from signing. That is not always a probability, but it is a possibility.
It’s important to note that Dallas still favors Cooper Rush in a pinch, therefore Lance isn’t even listed as the starting quarterback at QB2. Furthermore, allowing Prescott to walk is just plain nonsensical. Making that choice at the front office of the Cowboys would be disastrous. Even for Dallas, though.
Assuming Dallas is not harboring any grandiose ideas of Lance and his prospects, this transaction is advantageous to all parties. Dallas profits at a price that is nearly similar to the original Lance transaction, while Detroit gains a suitable backup quarterback for Goff. Lance even benefits from it as he climbs the depth chart and joins a stronger squad.
