Trey Lance is eager to demonstrate his skills in the Dallas Cowboys' preseason opener against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.
Heading into the preseason, Lance is listed third on the team’s unofficial depth chart. He explained his mindset as he is set to play in his first exhibition game in a Cowboys uniform.
"I'm going into this game the same as I've gone into every other game my whole entire life -- college, high school," Lance said on Friday, via the team’s website. "I don't think that I'll put too much extra in it. I'm not gonna play any harder than I have in the past, or not harder.
"Big game for me. Big game for us so I'm excited to go out there and play well."
Lance, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, is behind quarterbacks Dak Prescott and Cooper Rush. It remains to be seen how the backup QB battle between Lance and Rush will play out, but the three preseason games could be Lance's best chance to overthrow the longtime No. 2 signal-caller on the depth chart.
The last time Lance saw action on the field was in the 2023 preseason when he was a member of the San Francisco 49ers. He played the first two preseason games before he was traded to the Cowboys after San Francisco's final exhibition game.
As the 24-year-old QB enters his fourth season, Lance has played in a total of eight games (four starts), completed 54.9 percent of his passes for 797 yards and accrued a 5-3 touchdown-to-interception ratio with an 84.5 passer rating.
Even as Lance enters the final year of his rookie contract, his focus remains on the preseason tasks ahead of him.
"I think everything works out how it's supposed to," Lance said. "That's the truth. I believe I'm where I'm supposed to be. I live in the present, one day at a time, taking it one meeting and one marker at a time; and controlling what I can control."
