The hype has never fully materialized for Lance at the NFL level but the Chargers now take a low-cost gamble on the once promising quarterback. If nothing else, Lance offers an intriguing developmental option behind franchise quarterback Justin Herbert, with the potential for general manager Joe Hortiz to flip the investment down the road. Taylor Heinicke remains on the roster and is likely the preferred game day backup to Herbert once games begin to matter.

This comes after Lance received no interest in free agency. Entering his age-25 season, Lance has thrown a grand total of 461 passes since high school and has never appeared to be an NFL-caliber quarterback. Last year with the Cowboys, Lance completed 25 of 41 pass attempts for 266 yards and an interception. He added 11 rushes for 41 scoreless yards over four appearances for Dallas. He has five touchdown passes over 12 games in the NFL since the start of 2021. Lance could finally get some playing time north of the border and perhaps revive his NFL career in the coming years. There’s a good chance Lance has taken his final snap in the NFL, however.

And after two years being stuck behind Cooper Rush, who could blame Lance? Lance hits unrestricted free agency this offseason and almost assuredly is gone. The question at this point is: What kind of market is there for someone with five NFL starts in four years? Lance is still just entering his age-25 season, someone will dream on the tools. But it’s hard to imagine it would be more than a backup role for the North Dakota State product and former third overall pick.

Lance got the call for his first start in 28 months after spending the season as the Cowboys’ No. 3 quarterback. He got off to a fast start, tossing a floater to Jalen Tolbert for 31 yards as his first completion. However, the Cowboys offense floundered the rest of the game, failing to finish many drives in an ultimate loss. Lance played four games in 2024, ending his fourth NFL season as a reserve quarterback with 266 passing yards, one interception, and no touchdowns. The Cowboys have decisions to make with their backup quarterback spot as both Lance and Cooper Rush are set to hit free agency. We have only seen one start from Lance in over two years, making it difficult for him to have any sort of fantasy relevancy moving forward.