Dallas Mike McCarthy Griner Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

While the Cowboys likely won’t find themselves in a situation where new acquisition Trey Lance has to take any meaningful snaps this season, that hasn’t stopped head coach Mike McCarthy from praising the third-year quarterback.

On Thursday while meeting with the media, McCarthy had a lot to say about the North Dakota State alum, telling reporters, “[Lance is] very hard working. We have a quarterback meeting room area. He’s pretty much kind of taken it over. The grease boards look like ‘A Beautiful Mind.’ We just need to work on the extra things, particularly in the area of footwork.”

After trading three first-round picks to select Lance third overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, the San Francisco 49ers dealt the 23-year-old to the Cowboys last week after head coach Kyle Shanahan announced Brock Purdy would be the starter and Sam Darnold would be his backup, leaving Lance the odd man out.

While Lance’s on-field play and injury luck haven’t been great so far in his NFL career, there’s a chance that a change of scenery and a new coaching staff could be just what he needs to get things back on track.

Dak Prescott and Cooper Rush are both ahead of Lance on Dallas’ depth chart.

The Cowboys and Niners meet on Sunday Night Football on October 8.

[Michael Gehlkin]