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5 things to know about new Cowboys QB Trey Lance, including his 2022 ankle injury

Lance and Cowboys’ starter Dak Prescott have a shared experience as Lance joins Dallas’ locker room.

The Cowboys have added to their quarterback room by acquiring 49ers QB Trey Lance in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick. Lance joins Dak Prescott, Cooper Rush and Will Grier, for now, in Dallas.

Here are five things to know about Lance:

1. The basics

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Name: Trey Aubrey Lance

Position: Quarterback

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Birthday: May 9, 2000 (age 23)

Ht./Wt.: 6-4, 224 pounds

College: North Dakota State

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2. Phenomenal season

Lance’s sophomore 2019 season at North Dakota State, the school that also churned out 2016 second-overall pick Carson Wentz, was quite special. Though it happened at the FCS level, it was about as perfect of a season as a quarterback can have.

He started 16 of 16 games for the Bison, completing 66.9% of his passes for 2,786 yards and 28 touchdowns. He did not throw an interception the entire season. He also rushed for 1,100 yards and 14 touchdowns.

In the FCS championship game, he and the Bison knocked off former Cowboys quarterback Ben DiNucci and the James Madison Dukes at Toyota Stadium in Frisco. Lance was named MVP.

3. The draft

The 49ers made a big trade before the 2021 draft to acquire the third overall pick from the Miami Dolphins in exchange for three first-rounders and a third-rounder.

They took Lance with that pick, the third of three quarterbacks to go at the top of the 2021 draft, behind Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence (who went to Jacksonville) and BYU’s Zach Wilson (NY Jets). Lance would’ve been the highest FCS draft pick ever, if it weren’t for Wentz.

4. Limited reps

Something that may have raised some red flags with NFL teams, both when Lance was a draft prospect and while the 49ers were seeking a trade partner: He hasn’t actually played a lot of football. Lance has appeared in just 27 games, both college and pro, since the start of the 2018 season.

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Granted, one of those was the aforementioned phenomenal 2019 season. But Lance opted out of the COVID-impacted 2020 season to prepare for the 2021 draft.

After being drafted by the 49ers, he spent his rookie season backing up starter Jimmy Garoppolo. He beat out Garoppolo the following year to earn the QB1 job, but his season ended early ...

5. Ankle injury

Here’s an ice-breaker for Lance and Cowboys’ starter Dak Prescott: They both suffered in-game leg injuries that are really, really hard to watch.

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Lance was taken down awkwardly in Week 2 against the Seahawks last season and suffered a “fibula fracture and ligament disruption” in his right ankle, for which he underwent surgery and missed the remainder of the season.

It was a brutal injury at a brutal time for Lance, who had just claimed the 49ers’ starting QB gig out of the preseason, and was ultimately pushed out of San Francisco’s QB competition leading into the 2023 season.

Twitter: @coylio33

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