Golden Nuggets: How about that

Silver: 49ers can duck reckoning over Trey Lance for now, but there could still be hell to pay (paywall)

“By acknowledging a massive mistake and moving past one of the most scrutinized draft decisions in recent memory in a deal completed a few hours before the start of the Niners’ preseason finale against the Chargers at Levi’s Stadium, coach Kyle Shanahan drained at least some of the drama from what had been a long, hot summer. As one AFC head coach put it to me Friday morning: “For a team with Super Bowl aspirations, there’s a lot of noise coming from that place, and I don’t think that’s particularly healthy.”

What we learned as Purdy shows he’s ready in 49ers’ preseason finale

“That would create a path for the 49ers to re-sign Snead, Anthony Miller, Tay Martin or Conley (if his injury is not long term) to the regular-season roster as the sixth receiver.

Snead, an eight-year NFL veteran, appeared in four games last season for the 49ers. On Friday, he had a 6-yard touchdown catch from Darnold in the third quarter that gave the 49ers a 12-10 lead.”

Kyle Shanahan, 49ers players process Trey Lance’s rapid exit: ‘The NFL moves quick’ (paywall)

“I feel like, in a lot of other environments, it would be a lot harder pill to swallow,” Juszczyk said. “But outside the quarterback position, I feel there’s been such consistency and less volatility — we’ve just handled everything on all the other fronts — so it hasn’t been as big of a deal.”

Maiocco: 49ers turning page on Lance signals massive swing-and-miss

“In the second quarter of a Week 2 game against the Seattle Seahawks, Lance sustained a fractured lower leg and his season came to an end.

It turns out, his 49ers career essentially ended right then and there.”

Report: 49ers picked Cowboys’ Trey Lance trade offer over Bills’

“Lance’s path to playing time in Dallas isn’t clear, and the same could be said if he had been traded to Buffalo. Dak Prescott and Josh Allen are entrenched as starters for the Cowboys and Bills, respectively.”

As cutdown day approaches, these are the weak spots on the 49ers’ roster (paywall)

“And while Lenoir has some experience at nickel, he doesn’t have a lot. Nor does he have much experience in general. The 49ers’ top nickel players over the last decade or so — Carlos Rogers, K’Waun Williams and Jimmie Ward — already had played a lot of snaps in the secondary before the 49ers used them as nickels. Experience seems to be a prerequisite for the position and Lenoir, 23, is still building it.”

Trotter: 49ers’ Trey Lance gamble has gone bust, but there’s no shame in that (paywall)

We all know that multiple factors go into where and when a player is drafted. Some of it is strategic. If teams believe they can get a player later because their intel indicates other clubs are not high on the guy, they tend to wait. I’m not saying that’s what happened with Purdy, but I am saying San Francisco was the only team that used a draft pick on him rather than compete with others to acquire him as an unsigned rookie.

The draft is — and always has been — a roll of the dice. When personnel people say it’s 50-50 whether most picks will work out, it speaks to the inexact science involved. It’s why I give teams as much credit for hitting on late picks (maybe even more credit) as I do for making successful selections at the top of the draft. Sure, there are processes that can enhance or harm your success rate, but I’d rather talk about results than processes.