Trey Lance Should Strongly Consider Going to Saskatchewan Roughriders

CFLCFL 2025
Written By Sam Just

Trey Lance is an interesting case of projection versus playing time when it comes to the NFL Draft. Once selected third overall by the San Francisco 49ers in the 2021 NFL Draft, Lance entered the league as an unknown, having started just 17 total games over a 3-season stretch. He has since gone on to appear in just 12 regular-season games with 5 starts in 4 NFL seasons. With the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL recently placing Trey Lance on their negotiations list, should the still-young QB consider taking his talents north of the border?

COVID-19 Benefits Trey Lance

Countless people can say COVID-19 negatively affected their lives at the end of 2019, or most of 2020. Trey Lance might be one of the very few who can say he may have benefitted from its timing. Entering college in 2018, he spent one season redshirting for the Bison. He saw action in just two games but gave his university a taste of the athleticism he brought to the table heading into his future as the starter by rushing for 82 yards and 2 touchdowns on just 8 carries. 

North Dakota State fans were salivating at the prospect of adding yet another premier quarterback just a year after watching their former golden boy, Carson Wentz, put up MVP-like numbers while leading his team toward a Super Bowl win. Lance took the reins in 2019 and accomplished everything fans and, more importantly, coaches had hoped for. 

He led the Bison to an undefeated season, finishing a blemish-free 16-0. During that run, he completed just shy of 67% of his passes for 2,786 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions on 287 passing attempts. Setting an NCAA record for most passing attempts without an interception. 

Along the way, he displayed all the traits a professional team could want in a young quarterback, other than experience. This was in no uncertain terms one of the most impressive runs by a first-time starting quarterback in recent memory at that time. Then covid 19 struck and created uncertainty for the bulk of the sports world, including North Dakota State. 

They would ultimately play just one game in 2020. While Lance reminded teams about his athleticism by rushing 15 times for 143 yards and 2 touchdowns, he also displayed some things to be concerned about completing just 50% of his 30 passing attempts on the day. 

He finished with 149 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Had Lance continued down this path for the 2020 season his draft stock likely would have taken a significant hit. 

After the 2020 season, players were granted an extra year of eligibility to make up for a lost season. Many of them took this chance to prove themselves once again and ended up making the future draft classes overloaded with talented prospects, while simultaneously making the 2021 draft class fairly thin in certain positions. Someone in Lance's camp saw this as an opportunity. 

Coming off of a 19-game stretch that saw him pass for 2,947 yards 30 touchdowns, 1 interception, and rush for 1,325 yards and 18 touchdowns, Lance's draft stock was incredibly high, and likely would not get any higher if he returned to college in 2021 and beyond. Even though he had 3 more seasons of eligibility. This led him to declare for the NFL draft having played a grand total of 894 collegiate snaps. 

NFL Draft Class Pushes Draft Stock Higher 

In 2021 a record 8 quarterbacks were selected in the first 3 rounds, at the time the class looked like it might produce a promising crop of players. Despite this many players opted to remain in college taking advantage of another year of eligibility. Among the group of 8 selected early, Lance was the most raw, but his skillset gave him arguably the highest upside of the group. 

As the dust settled on the draft Trevor Lawrence was selected first overall, Zach Wilson went 2nd overall, Lance went 3rd overall, Justin Fields went 11th, and Mac Jones was selected 15th. Looking back on the class now, it could rank as one of the most underwhelming classes in a long time. At the time, however, each franchise was excited about what the future held with their new quarterback in tow. 

The 49ers had given up a gold mine of picks to Miami for the rights to the third overall pick to select a quarterback. This package included their next three first-round picks, as well as a third-round pick in 2022. With a bridge quarterback in Jimmy Garoppolo in hand the 49ers did not need to start Lance immediately and they chose to let him sit behind Jimmy G and learn. 

What unfolded over the next two seasons was Lance seeing action in 8 total games with 4 starts. He finished with a 2-2 record over two seasons, never topping a 58% completion rate in either season. He threw for 797 yards, 5 touchdowns (all in 2021), and 3 interceptions. He also ran the ball 54 times for 235 yards and 1 touchdown.

While he had been named the starter in 2022 a season-ending injury early on opened the door for Brock Purdy to steal the starting job as a rookie. Purdy came in and outperformed Lance in every way. Lance was relegated to third string in 2023 behind Purdy, and Sam Darnold leading to speculation that Lance was no longer in the plans for the 49ers long term. 

This led the 49ers to put an end to the Trey Lance era in San Francisco by trading him to the Dallas Cowboys at the end of training camp in 2023. Since joining the Cowboys he has been again relegated to third string behind Dak Prescott, and long-time Cowboys backup Cooper Rush. The Cowboys told the world just how much they did not trust Lance when Prescott suffered a season-ending injury in 2024 and they chose to start Rush until their final game in a 7-win season. 

Lance played okay but fell to the Commanders by 4 points in a game that did not see him find the endzone. Throwing 34 passes, and running 6 times he accounted for 270 total yards. He did not account for a touchdown but also did not account for a turnover. 

Heading into 2025 with his 22.4 million dollar fifth-year option declined he became a free agent and so far no team has made an offer he has signed as of yet. So far Trey Lance has earned over $34,000,000 in his NFL career, and could easily sit back and wait out an NFL contract, however, it becomes a question of what is he looking to accomplish. 

Long-Term, Trey Lance Needs Playing Time to Improve 

Lance has been in the NFL for 4 seasons, and he is still only 24 years old. He is younger than some rookies set to be drafted in April. Yet he has not yet been added to a roster. Meanwhile, the Saskatchewan Roughriders have added Lance to their negation list for 2025. Allowing him to potentially pick up where his father once left off. 

Many players latch on to the CFL too late in their playing careers to use it as a launching board back to the NFL. However, Trey Lance has AT LEAST another two-year window before he starts to age out of getting more NFL opportunities. Going to the CFL could be a great opportunity for Trey Lance to get legitimate playing time early.

Currently, the Saskatchewan Roughriders have three CFL veteran quarterbacks atop their roster. Trevor Harris is over ten years older than Lance and coming off of a season that saw him miss games due to injury. Jake Maier has extensive starting experience from his time in Calgary, but was very up and down in his time there which led to his departure. Tommy Stevens is not a threat to take significant reps at quarterback and is used solely as a short-yardage option who could be utilized in other areas as well. 

None of those players have realistically cemented themselves as the long-term starting option for Saskatchewan at quarterback. Trey Lance however would instantly come in as the most talented player at the position, albeit one of the least experienced in the CFL. 

Having Trevor Harris, and Jake Maier at quarterback allows you to experiment with younger players at the position. In this hypothetical scenario you can bring Lance in, allow him to learn the game behind two veterans, and activate him as your starter in the event of an injury to Harris knowing you have Maier to step in if he falters. Harris has not played a full season since 2015 making it incredibly likely that Lance could see playing time early.  

Coaching Could Be a Point of Attraction for Trey Lance

Current Roughriders offensive coordinator Marc Mueller is a former quarterback in a family full of people who have played the position. Mueller played for the Regina Rams and made his way onto a CFL roster for a short time before entering the coaching ranks overseeing his old position with his university team. He went on to coach quarterbacks for three seasons with Calgary. 

Mueller unofficially serves as the quarterback coach for Saskatchewan as well. They do not have a dedicated quarterbacks coach but have coaches overseeing running backs, wide receivers, and offensive line. They also have Josh Donnelly who coached quarterbacks at Regina before joining the Roughriders as an offensive assistant. Couple these two men with the fact that he would be learning behind Trevor Harris, it would allow Lance to focus on improving as a quarterback first and foremost. 

Roster Construction Lends Itself to Bringing in High-Reward Quarterback Prospect

This roster is uniquely constructed in a way where they could in theory carry 4 players at quarterback, and they realistically would not need to compromise much in their makeup to do so. Last season the Roughriders carried fullback Albert Awachie on their roster, and utilized him in 18 games however he came away with just 3 targets, 2 receptions for 6 yards, 2 tackles, and 1 kick return for 15 yards. 

The Roughriders could very easily replace his production with Tommy Stevens when needed. Stevens is 6’4 245 pounds and once went to camp with the New Orleans Saints as a tight end. He spent the better part of 8 months learning to play the position from future NFL head coach Dan Campbell, a former tight end himself. This included learning to block, catch, and play special teams, this is virtually the exact same role Awachie holds with Saskatchewan. 

It is essentially a one-for-one swap if you retain Stevens and use him in this role, while allowing Awachie to find a new home. This allows you to carry four quarterbacks on the roster, as well as finding ways to get Tommy Stevens more involved on offense, utilizing his unique skill set. 

Win-Win Scenario 

This sounds like a win-win scenario for Lance and the Roughriders. If there is one resounding fact that should be taken from this, it's that Lance needs to play in actual games to improve. Getting to build on his father’s short legacy in Saskatchewan is an added bonus for the team and Lance. Now the ball is in Lance’s court. If his phone continues to sit quietly as he awaits an NFL contract offer, we could see him make this move sooner rather than later. If I was one of Lance’s advisors I would be recommending making the move to the CFL or UFL. 

There is a long list of prominent NFL quarterbacks who needed the lessons learned in other leagues to find success in the largest league. When you look at names like Warren Moon, Jeff Garcia, Kurt Warner, Tommy Maddox, Doug Flutie, and more the proof is there that this step can be crucial to a career. 

Sam Just
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