The Lance File
- Two FCS championships, 2018, 2019
- 2020 NCAA DI Football Championship Game MVP, 2020
- Walter Payton Award winner, 2019
- Jerry Rice Award winner, 2019
- 3rd overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft
The Conspiracy Theorists Found Football
Unserious journalistic doozies are an NFL offseason tradition like no other. In 2022, they latched onto Trey Lance, a young passer who hadn't seen the field enough to fight off criticism, regardless of validity.
Mike Silver and Colin Cowherd discussed the young quarterback, reporting that sources claimed Lance had "arm fatigue" from his mechanics.
"It's not an easy throw," began Cowherd. "He needs days off. And they're worried about his accuracy."
Much like your friendly neighborhood conspiracy theorist, certain details are true...until they aren't. Yes, Lance's throwing motion is not perfect. Yes, there are some inconsistencies with his ball placement. Where Cowherd goes awry is when these issues get talked about as some sort of emergency.
Arm fatigue doesn't exist, at least not for healthy quarterbacks. If his mechanics were truly bad enough that he needed days off between practices, we'd know. He wouldn't have been drafted.
So pan out or flame out, the summer of 2022 is too early to tell. No matter what happens, it won't be because of a woeful stretch of the truth made to generate views.