There’s a lot of weirdness surrounding ex-49ers QB Trey Lance’s final Cowboys game

It's certainly been a unique NFL journey for Trey Lance, the former No. 3 overall pick for the 49ers turned third-stringer for the Cowboys. But ahead of Lance's final game on his rookie deal, speculation has kicked into high gear that the 24-year-old may start his first game for Dallas on Sunday.

After being inactive for all of 2023 and most of 2024 as the third-stringer, Lance has been active but backing up Cooper Rush since Dak Prescott's injury in Week 9. Still, even with the Cowboys missing the playoffs, Lance has only played in three games (two stints of garbage time snaps during blowout losses to the Eagles and a single designed run call against the Commanders).

On Sunday, the Cowboys will play the Commanders in the final week of the season. Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy opened the door for questions about the quarterback position with comments on Monday.

"I really like what Cooper has done and I think we all have to recognize the job he's done to this point," said McCarthy on Monday. "But this is the time where you do think about - not just the quarterback position, but all the positions - making sure we do have information on our younger players."

McCarthy also added that he would love to "make sure everybody plays," but declined to answer specific questions about quarterbacks. Cowboys director of player personnel Stephen Jones - Jerry's son - also gave a comment to the team website's reporter expressing interest in seeing Lance play.

"Yeah, I think we'll see how the week plays out," Stephen Jones told DallasCowboys.com. "But, yes, I think we're going to see more of him and could see quite a bit of him. He's obviously worked his tail off. Cooper has done a great job with this team but, at the same time, we might want to [take] a good, long, hard look at Trey this weekend and see what he has. We'll see how practice goes this week."

McCarthy has been peppered with questions about who his starting quarterback will be all week and has seemed increasingly annoyed each time. He joked Wednesday about not unveiling any information until 90 minutes before kickoff; when asked again Thursday, McCarthy said, "I really don't want to talk on it."

CBS Sports insider Jonathan Jones also threw some intrigue into the mix. According to Jones, Rush's contract with the Cowboys gives incentive bonuses based on the number of snaps he plays during the season. Rush has currently earned $250,000 for playing 52.5% of Dallas' snaps, but could double his money if he crosses the 55% mark, which would have to happen in Sunday's game. In that sense, playing Lance could be a way for the Cowboys to save money.

The Cowboys declined Lance's expensive fifth-year option in May, making Sunday the final game on Lance's rookie deal. It was an expected move, but the decision and lack of playing time after has only added more questions as to why Dallas traded the 49ers a fourth-round pick for Lance in the first place.

(The 49ers, by the way, used that pick to select safety Malik Mustapha. The hard-hitting rookie has been a bright spot all season for San Francisco and had five tackles and a pass breakup in the 49ers' win over the Cowboys in October.)

Sunday is shaping up as one final chance to see what Lance can do in meaningful action. For his part, Lance told reporters Wednesday that he believes he can be a starting quarterback in the NFL. But it's hard to show that without a chance to get on the field, and even he isn't sure yet if he's going to start on Sunday or whether he'll play zero snaps or all of them. And after Sunday, he'll be an unrestricted free agent, with no more game-action chances to showcase his skills.

While Lance's status is still questionable, one former 49ers quarterback already knows he'll play this week. The Rams are starting Jimmy Garoppolo against the Seahawks on Sunday in order to rest Matthew Stafford for the playoffs.