Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The competition between Colt McCoy and Scott Tolzien to be the  backup quarterback behind starter Colin Kaepernick is heating up. After the 49ers third week of OTAs, McCoy is the leading candidate to the No. 2 quarterback on the depth chart.

[Photo Gallery: 49ers Third Week Of OTAs]

Less than three months remain before the start of the regular season, which includes training camp, so the competition is far from over. McCoy is entering his fourth season in the league and his first with the Niners after an off-season trade. Tolzien has spent his two years in the NFL in San Francisco. McCoy holds an huge edge with 21 career starts, to Tolzien’s zero at quarterback. An advantage for Tolzien is he has spent the past two seasons learning Greg Roman’s offense as the teams third-string quarterback.

At OTAs Jim Harbaugh seemed to endorse McCoy as the backup to Kaepernick by saying:

(McCoy) has been in that role since he got here. He’s doing very well, picking up the system. And a guy that is really serious and focused on being good and doing a good job. He’s got a lot of things that motivate him to work hard. And he’s worked extra hard, too. He’s doing well.

Also in the mix battling for a position on the Niners QB depth chart is rookie B.J. Daniels. The seventh-round draft pick is competing to get on the roster as the third-string quarterback, which means Tolzien is essentially battling for two roster spots. The combination of McCoy’s experience over Tolzien and the 49ers trading a fifth- and seventh-round draft picks to acquire him, are other reasons why Colt will be the No. 2 QB.

There is an increasing possibility the San Francisco 49ers will trade quarterback Alex Smith on March 12, when the 2013 season officially beings. March 12 is the earliest the 49ers can make a trade. Until then, the Niners have reportedly had trade discussions with the Kansas City Chiefs and Arizona Cardinals for Smith’s services.

You can make an argument for keeping Smith on the roster because Colin Kaepernick is a running quarterback, which increases his chances of getting injured. But trading Smith is the best option for the team.

For one, Kaepernick showed he is smart when running with the football and knows when to go out of bounds or take a slide to the turf to avoid a big hit. Another reason the Niners should trade Smith is because of third string quarterback Scott Tolzien. He has spent the past two seasons in Greg Roman’s offense, so he knows the playbook well. He has equally an accurate of an arm as Kaepernick and would be a good backup option to go to if there was an injury.

Tolzien was the starting quarterback at the University of Wisconsin from 2009-2010 and he went undrafted in 2011. The San Diego Chargers signed him as an undrafted free agent; however he was cut from the team before the start of the season. Shortly after he was released the 49ers signed him to be the third string quarterback.

While Tolzien has no regular season experience, he frequently runs the scout team for the 49ers. This means he is mimicking that weeks opposing quarterback in practice and facing off against the top defense in the NFL each week.

After Smith is traded, there is no doubt the Niners will sign a veteran quarterback when free agency starts. But don’t be surprised if Tolzien is the No. 2 quarterback on the depth chart this season.

Scott Tolzien at 49ers Training Camp in 2012:

Scott Tozlien’s College Highlight Video:

While a ton of credit goes to the coaches and obviously the players for good reason 49ers General Manager Trent Baalke deserves a lot of credit for this season’s turn around.   Usually when you talk about a GM’s off season performance it’s all about who he added to the roster, his performance in the draft and the free agent market.  Baalke did great in this portion of the off season and we’ll get to that later but first this off season was just as much about subtraction from the roster as it was the additions to the roster.

The 49ers have had some talented players in the last few seasons, unfortunately a lot of them didn’t fill their roles or live up to expectations, warranted or not.  In what seemed like a step backwards early in the off season the 49ers purged these guys off the roster.  First it was Cornerback Nate Clements, brought in to be a “shutdown” CB and while he had some nice moments in a 49er uniform he’s really no where near a shut down guy he was getting paid like one and that’s what forced this marriage to end. 

Manny Lawson is a very talented player, drafted to be a passrusher at Outside Linebacker after playing Defensive End in college he didn’t fit the role he was drafted for.  An excellent run stopper and coverage LB Lawson’s main flaw was the one that the 49ers were hoping would become his greatest strength, rushing the passer.  Lawson followed Clements to Cincinnati on a 1 year $1 million deal, a sign the 49ers wanted no parts of him. 

Now most 49er fans knew those moves were coming, Clements and Lawson weren’t exactly fan favorites.  The moves needed to be made for both financial and strategic needs for the team.  The next 2 which happened to be the first 49ers to sign elsewhere in free agency stung at first.  David Baas a former 2nd round pick that finally had a breakout season at Center left for the NY Giants who paid him like a top 5 C.  I don’t think you will find anyone that thinks he actually is a top 5 C but the loss looked to set back an Offensive Line that was finally making progress.  Next was Takeo Spikes who signed a 3 year deal in San Diego after what he described as only mild interest from the 49ers.  Spikes was a Captain and true leader on the team, he was Patrick Willis’ mentor, but he was also 34 and got  a 3 year deal, the 49ers were wise in letting him walk.
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