FRISCO, Texas — Trey Lance's short time in Dallas since being traded from San Francisco after last preseason has mostly seen the former No. 3 overall pick sit in the shadows.
He spent the entirety of the 2023 season as the third-string quarterback on the depth chart, and while he was able to travel with the team and dress out for every game, he didn't see the field aside from his methodical pregame workout sessions with quarterbacks coach Scott Tolzien.
Now with a full season under his belt to take on a new offense, Lance is gearing up for a battle at training camp that executive vice president Stephen Jones has already stated will happen in Oxnard between Lance and Cooper Rush.
"My mindset hasn't changed," Lance said of the opportunity. "I haven't attacked this offseason any differently. Controlling what I can control, continuing to learn the offense and building trust with these guys and the coaching staff as well."
"I'm excited. I haven't played a snap, obviously, since last preseason. I'm just excited and looking forward to it and making sure I'm ready when that time does come."
Building confidence and trust has been the majority of what has made up the first nine months as a member of the Cowboys for Lance, as he looks to take that forward into his second chance in the league.
"[My confidence] is much higher than it was when I got into the NFL, for sure," he said. "I kind of didn't know what to expect. I think that's probably most rookies, if not all of them at one point or another throughout that first year. I feel great about where I'm at. Continuing to get better, continuing to learn and continuing to be a better quarterback."
A big part of that learning has been getting used to major schematic differences between the offense he was accustomed to in San Francisco and what he has had to pick up in Dallas under Mike McCarthy. Fortunately, he feels he's at a spot to attack his next opportunity.
"It's just a different offense," he said. "In San Francisco, we weren't really dropping out in the gun and passing on 1st and 10 too many times. It's totally different here where we do that. We have the guys to do that and the coaching staff to do it as well."
Lance has grown close with Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and other players on the team as he gets settled into Dallas and settled into a shot at rewriting what his underperforming career has been to this point. With just two months sitting between now and Lance taking the field at training camp to begin that rewrite, he feels he's at the best he's been in his NFL career.
"I think the biggest thing is I've learned a lot about myself and who I am on and off the field," Lance said. "This offseason, I've been at my best mentally, physically, spiritually knowing who I am, where I am and being able to be present."
