Report: 49ers receiving trade "inquiries" about Trey Lance

The 49ers are “fielding the calls, not making them,” Rapoport reported. Teams are aware that Brock Purdy is “likely” the future starter for the red-and-gold, not Lance.

No trade is imminent and any move is contingent upon Purdy’s rehab continuing to go “as smoothly as it’s been going," Rapoport said.

Lance, who the 49ers traded up to pick third overall in the 2021 NFL draft, entered last season as the team’s starter, but he only lasted one and a half games before fracturing his ankle and missing the rest of the year. After his backup, Jimmy Garoppolo, also went down with a foot injury in Week 13, Purdy, the final pick in last year’s draft, inherited the starting job and led the team to within a win of the Super Bowl. In the process, Purdy seemingly put himself in poll position to be the 49ers' top signal caller in 2023.

Of course, he has his own injury concerns. Purdy is recovering from elbow surgery in March which repaired a ligament he tore in the opening minutes of the NFC Championship Game. General manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan said last month there isn’t a clear timeline for his recovery. Lynch speculated he could be cleared as early as training camp while Shanahan noted his return could be as late as Week 4 of the regular season.

His uncertainty puts Lance in a precarious place. Both Lynch and Shanahan have indicated that if Purdy were healthy, he would be the starter this year. But since it's unclear when he'll return to the field, the door is open for Lance, who has still only started four games in his career.

Lance said in early February he is expected to be 100% for the team’s offseason program, which started this week. The 49ers also signed former Jets and Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold, giving the team two healthy quarterbacks at the start of their offseason training.