Why John Lynch says Lance’s intel on 49ers won’t help Cowboys on Sunday
SANTA CLARA — Six weeks after the 49ers traded him to the NFC-rival Dallas Cowboys, Trey Lance says he’s excited to spill company secrets ahead of Sunday night’s return to Levi’s Stadium.
Cowboys starter Dak Prescott says it’s “been very helpful, honestly” to debrief Lance, a third-string understudy.
The 49ers are not concerned.
“I mean, this isn’t the Houston Astros over there banging a drum for fastballs,” 49ers general manager John Lynch said Friday on KNBR 680-AM, referring to the Astros’ cheating scandal in 2017.
”He can’t do that over there,” Lynch said of Lance. “Now, everything is through the headset. The closest thing back in the day was, when coordinators actually used to signal things in, you could glean some things, and people did, one organization did particularly well.”
Lynch was not so subtly referring to his playing days on the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their Super Bowl demolition of the Raiders, who didn’t change their offensive signals even though their ex-coach was the Bucs’ Jon Gruden, so the story goes.
Lynch did acknowledge that Lance, as a quarterback, is “more privy” to the 49ers’ scheme thoughts, “but I don’t think there’s a whole lot,” and that the best intelligence might be on specific individuals. That is what the 49ers have also asked in turn from cornerback Anthony Brown, who signed with them last month after playing the previous seven seasons with the Cowboys.
Aside from “a code word here or there,” Lynch said of Lance’s potential insider-trading knowledge: “It’s not something we’re worried about.”
Coach Kyle Shanahan shared a similar sentiment earlier this week, saying he hoped Lance was talking so much throughout the week “and making them focus totally on that instead of the simple stuff of watching the tape.”
The 49ers traded Lance for a fourth-round draft pick prior to their Aug. 25 preseason finale. Drafted with the 2021 No. 3 overall pick, Lance lasted two seasons with the 49ers in a role limited by his injuries (finger, knee, ankle) and an inability to climb the depth chart, where he was stuck behind Jimmy Garoppolo as a rookie and then unable to beat out Sam Darnold this offseason to serve as Brock Purdy‘s backup.
“I’m doing everything I can to help,” Lance told DallasCowboys.com of this week’s preparations. “But at the same time, these guys have done a lot of prep on the Niners with those big games the last two years, so they know a lot about the offense.”
The 49ers, with Lance on their sideline, defeated the Cowboys in the 2021 wild-card playoffs (23-17) and last season’s divisional round (19-12).
“But, I mean, I’m here now so I’m doing everything I can to try and help,” Lance added. “Any time I can have a bigger role to help the team, help Dak out, it’s exciting for sure.”
“He’s been very helpful, honestly,” Prescott told the Cowboys’ website. “Just in the way their defense can move, certain calls they may have to make if we put them in certain positions. Things you kinda see on film but getting some definitive answers from him on how they did things, he’s been very helpful.”
Defensive end Nick Bosa somewhat laughed off what insight the Cowboys can acquire that hasn’t been gleaned from their past two playoff matchups or this season’s game film; the 49ers are 4-0, the Cowboys 3-1.
“We have an idea of what we’re going to do, and they have Trey, so I’m sure they have an idea,” Bosa said. “The NFL is a copycat league and everybody knows pretty much about everything.”
Brown, the former Cowboys cornerback, added: “They (the 49ers) already know everything. They beat us (the Cowboys) twice the last two years. Just keep doing what you’ve been doing.”
Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, however, said he’d “for sure” talk to Brown about the Cowboys during practice.
Cornerback Charvarius Ward does not harbor any animosity toward the Cowboys after they traded him as an undrafted rookie to the Chiefs just before the 2018 season. “It was a great trade for the Chiefs, and not so good for the Cowboys,” Ward said. “Hold a grudge? I won a Super Bowl in Kansas City, I played hella good in Kansas City, and I got a great contract here in San Francisco, so I’m happy the way my career’s been going.”
As for whether the 49ers-Cowboys rivalry invokes ill will among the teams, Ward said: “Probably for them. Not for us. We won (last season’s playoff matchup). We’re good.”
The 49ers have proven better than good with Purdy at quarterback. He has not lost since replacing Garoppolo on Dec. 4, except for the NFC Championship Game in which the Eagles won and injured Purdy’s elbow. The 49ers are looking to record their 15th straight regular-season win Sunday night.
“It’s not a flash-in-the-pan thing. It’s consistency,” Lynch told KNBR about Purdy. “He’s a machine and he’s continuing to get better. That’s an exciting thing for us and he handles everything so well.
“What a godsend he was to this organization.”