The New England Patriots should have traded for QB Trey Lance

With the New England Patriots not having a clear long-term option at the quarterback position, a trade for Trey Lance would have made a ton of sense. Honestly, it makes no sense that the Patriots did not make this trade. Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe are the top two quarterbacks on the roster right now, and neither one has much "oomf" to be a long-term, viable franchise quarterback in the NFL.

Trey Lance, who was a 2021 NFL Draft QB like Mac Jones was, was taken by the San Francisco 49ers with the third overall pick. Mac Jones was taken by the Patriots 12 picks later at #15, and as of now, Jones has been the best QB from that class in terms of win/loss record. Trey Lance simply did not work out for the 49ers, as the raw QB was jumped by both Brock Purdy and Sam Darnold on the 49ers' depth chart.

San Fran traded three first-round picks to move up in 2021 to take Lance, and they recently traded him to the Dallas Cowboys for a measly fourth-round pick. Honestly, it's downright insane that the New England Patriots did not make this trade. Even though new OC Bill O'Brien has not had a great preseason, he does have a solid track record of developing young quarterbacks, namely Bryce Young and Deshaun Watson.

For a fourth-round pick, the Patriots should have taken that chance, pairing Lance with O'Brien. Lance is still only 23 years old and does have an entire NFL career ahead of him. With the Patriots inching closer and closer to a full rebuild, they'll have to take a shot on another quarterback at some point.

Well, just because Trey Lance did not work out in San Francisco, does not mean he won't work out somewhere else. Bill Belichick should have made this move. In the NFL, teams should keep taking shots on quarterbacks until they find the guy. That means being active in the draft, free agency, and in the trade market until the franchise QB is established.

The New England Patriots missed a great opportunity by not trading for QB Trey Lance.