Jerry Jones guarantees Lance's roster spot despite 5-INT game

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Trey Lance had a roller-coaster performance Saturday during the team's preseason finale, accounting for two touchdowns - including a 46-yard run - but also throwing five interceptions.

Despite Lance's turnovers in a 26-19 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones guaranteed that the 2021 No. 3 pick will remain with Dallas ahead of the NFL's Aug. 27 cut-down day.

"He will be on this roster," Jones said Saturday, according to team reporter Nick Harris.

Lance played the whole game Saturday. He completed 33 of 49 pass attempts for 323 yards and one touchdown while adding 90 yards and one TD on the ground. However, the Chargers intercepted him five times, with one of the picks resulting in a fourth-quarter pick-6.

The 24-year-old is the first player with at least 500 passing yards and 150 rushing yards in a full preseason since 2017, notes ESPN's Ed Werder, who adds that Lance is also only the second QB with a five-INT preseason game over the last 30 years.

"I saw some things out there that you can win with," Jones said of Lance's outing, according to Werder.

He added: "If I could have drawn this thing up, I would have hoped to get two-thirds of the number of plays that we got to see him play, and that's very valuable for us, very valuable for him."

Once a projected franchise quarterback, Lance didn't meet expectations as a first-round pick during his time with the San Francisco 49ers. The North Dakota State product was San Francisco's Week 1 starter in 2022 but sustained a season-ending injury in Week 2 and eventually lost the starting role to Brock Purdy.

The 49ers traded Lance to the Cowboys for a fourth-round pick in August 2023. He hasn't attempted a regular-season pass since September 2022.

Dallas' quarterback depth chart is headlined by 2023 MVP finalist Dak Prescott and also features Cooper Rush, who originally joined the team in 2017. Prescott has only one year left on his contract and has yet to sign an extension with the Cowboys.