The Dallas Cowboys stunned the NFL on Thursday when they traded acquired quarterback Joe Milton and a seventh-round pick from the New England Patriots for a 2025 fifth-round compensatory pick.
It essentially amounts to a pick swap that has Dallas sliding some 40 picks on day three of the draft. It's a great price for a high-upside backup to deploy behind Prescott. While Milton is unpolished, he's an elite athlete for a quarterback with a cannon for a right arm.
With Will Grier already on the roster, the Milton trade seemed to signify the end of Trey Lance's time with the Cowboys. Well, the Lance era - if it even deserves that distinction - officially ended on Friday when he signed a one-year deal with the LA Chargers.
Former Cowboys QB Trey Lance signs one-year deal with the Chargers
Lance's contract is worth up to $6.2 million, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.
It's a really good deal for Lance considering he made just one start in two seasons with the Cowboys. In four appearances for the five-time champs, Lance completed 25 of 41 passes for 266 yards and zero touchdowns to one interception.
The former No. 3 overall pick was given the chance to shine last preseason. While he made some impressive plays with his legs, he threw a jaw-dropping five INTs in his final start before the regular season, confirming once and for all that Cooper Rush would back up Dak Prescott.
RELATED: Joe Milton trade: Cowboys lower offer leaves Jerry Jones a winner
Trading a fourth-round pick for Lance seemed questionable at the time given he started four games for the 49ers over three years, and it amounted to absolutely nothing. Some viewed it as a leverage play over Prescott, but he ended up getting $60 million per year.
What made it even more head-scratching is the Cowboys re-signed Rush to a two-year deal five months earlier. It's clear Jerry Jones viewed Lance as a long-term backup, and maybe even an eventual starter, but he didn't show signs of being an NFL player at any point during his time in San Francisco.
Not having a fourth-round pick last year prevented Dallas from drafting a running back. They could have taken Oregon stud Bucky Irving, who finished sixth in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting after compiling over 1,500 yards from scrimmage, eight touchdowns and averaging 5.4 yards per carry with the Buccaneers.
Sure enough, the Cowboys reunited with Ezekiel Elliott right after the draft, which turned out to be an absolute disaster.
The trade for Milton allows the organization to move forward with a hint of excitement at the quarterback position behind Prescott, but the Lance trade will go down as one of the most pointless and wasteful moves in recent Cowboys history.