49ers absolute failure with Trey Lance proves hypocrisy in NFL media again

Amidst all the roster cutdowns that dominated the NFL world last week was the dramatic breaking news regarding the 49ers and Trey Lance. In recent weeks, it was revealed that San Francisco GM John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan entertained trade offers for the former first-round quarterback.

Although it wasn't a universal shock because it was assumed Lance and Brock Purdy would be competing for the starting position after Jimmy Garoppolo left in free agency, it was a move that didn't make a whole lot of sense given what the 49ers did to select him in the draft just two years ago.

Lance had limited opportunities to showcase what he could bring to the team as the QB1. He was named the starter for the 2022 season but suffered a broken ankle in week two that kept him sidelined for the rest of the year.

Garoppolo took over in his place until he, too, got injured ten weeks later. And that seems to be when Lance lost his job. Rookie quarterback and Mr. Irrelevant Purdy then stepped up to the plate and took the 49ers all the way to the NFC Championship game, seemingly solidifying his spot atop the depth chart.

All of this appears to have led to the trade of Lance to the Cowboys last week.

Despite the absolute failure of the 49ers since acquiring him, the media coverage of it all was minuscule, proving once again that the NFL media picks and chooses when to have hot takes and who deserves it.

The light coverage of the trade makes little to no sense. Not only did the Niners give up on a young quarterback already, but it's a quarterback that they traded three first-round picks for to move up from the 12th overall to the 3rd.

The decision to give up all of that draft capital for a presumed quarterback of the future just to trade that player away two years later is bonkers, for lack of a better term. And although the situation has nothing to do with the Patriots, it's hard not to think about how differently the media coverage would be if it were the Patriots in the 49ers place.

Considering Bill Belichick is still accosted for choosing N'Keal Harry in the first round of the 2019 draft, or even for "giving up on 42-year-old Tom Brady too soon," it's not far-fetched to assume the media would be much harsher had it been the Patriots that failed as miserably as Shanahan did with Lance.

Maybe it's because of the difference in the recent history of the two franchises, or perhaps it's favoritism toward the 49ers over the Patriots; who knows? But it's just the latest indication that the Patriots are among the teams not covered fairly, and other teams are given passes for the same decisions or mistakes that New England is not.