San Francisco 49ers’ quarterback in 2018 is… Andrew Luck?

The San Francisco 49ers are going to be on the hunt for a quarterback in 2018, and rumors of dissent between Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts have some Niners fans thinking.

Week 3 marks the first weekend this regular season without San Francisco 49ers football, so why not play around with some NFL rumors out there and suggest a possibility floated out by a big rumor.

That rumor, of course, is quarterback Andrew Luck is disgruntled with the Indianapolis Colts organization — a storyline suggested by ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike Show last week.

According to WTHR’s Bob Kravitz, there isn’t any truth to this rumor. Luck apparently wants to stay put:

Why would Luck want to leave, at least financially? He’s signed through 2021 with a deal potentially worth a total of over $139 million.

San Francisco 49ers

OK, fine. He’s rich. But there are so many other factors in the mix.

First, the Colts might be the worst team in the NFL right now. The only difference between Indy and, let’s say, the New York Jets (who are also pretty bad, if you haven’t checked) is the Colts have a franchise-type quarterback.

Albeit one who can’t stay healthy.

The Colts defense was too old, too slow last season. And their offensive line is still a mess (Luck certainly is aware of this), ranking 22nd in the NFL entering 2017, according to Pro Football Focus.

So it shouldn’t come as a shock the Colts fired their former general manager, Ryan Grigson, replacing him with Chris Ballard earlier this offseason. Ballard will want to put his own stamp on things in coming years, and who knows whether or not those plans include Luck.

Meanwhile, over in Santa Clara with the San Francisco 49ers, there’s a team in need of one of those franchise-type quarterbacks.

The 49ers’ Quarterbacking Situation

Kudos to the Niners for completely overhauling their front office last offseason.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan surely has a knack for developing quarterbacks. He’s worked wonders with many of them, including current San Francisco QB Brian Hoyer, who led the NFL in average yards per passing attempt (13.7) in 2014, when both were with the Cleveland Browns.

But anyone who has watched Hoyer under center with the 49ers early this season can accurately conclude he’s not the long-term answer. Not even close.

And while the 49ers have a possible young replacement riding the bench, rookie C.J. Beathard, the likelier of situations points to Shanahan and Co. seriously shopping for a quarterback during the 2018 offseason.

Perhaps Luck is the guy.

So How Exactly Do the 49ers Acquire Andrew Luck?

OK, so this is little more than rumor and speculation. There’s no indication anywhere the 49ers would take this route, even if Luck was made available.

If he was, though, the price tag wouldn’t be cheap.

Absorbing that massive contract would push a number of other quarterback-hungry teams out of the picture. Some, like those Jets, could still make a move.

But the Niners currently sit $64,961,712 under the 2017 salary cap. Assuming all of that rolls over into next year — San Francisco always rolls over its cap space — the combined amount could be somewhere in the range of $116 million in available cap.

Wow.

Financially speaking, the 49ers are in about as perfect a situation to afford Luck’s services. But this isn’t a buy-off, and the Colts aren’t trying to clear cap space.

No, they’ll be asking for a lot in return. And that means NFL Draft picks, plenty of them, and those of high value.

Our friend Uncle Chaps over at Barstool Sports suggested what the price tag would be:

"If [the Colts] sucked to the point where they got a top 2 or 3 draft pick and were in a position to draft one of the top QBs this year, they could most likely get an insane package from another team for Luck. I’d imagine that it’d take at least 2 first round picks if not 3 first-round picks for Luck."

It’s likely San Francisco winds up with a top-five pick in this upcoming draft, which could increase the trade value and lessen the asking price down to two first-round picks — one in 2018 and another in 2019.

But remember, the Los Angeles Rams gave up two first-round picks, two second rounders and two third rounders to move up to No. 1 overall in the 2016 draft, selecting quarterback Jared Goff and receiving some mid- and late-round picks in exchange.

And Goff was an unknown commodity at the time!

Back to Reality

Would such a trade make sense for San Francisco? Well, on one hand, the Niners would be set with their quarterback for the next four years. And if the team’s rebuild project is ahead of schedule, at least two of those could be serious windows for a Super Bowl.

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But the move would test the limits of general manager John Lynch’s negotiating abilities and strain his chances to seriously address other pressing areas of need via the draft and free agency.

That’s the reason it’s hard to suggest this happens or is a realistic option, regardless if Luck is even on the trade block.

One might guess Shanahan would want to go the route of the draft, finding a highly touted prospect in what looks to be a deep 2018 class. Or, possibly, Shanahan wants to reunite with his former quarterback with the Washington Redskins, Kirk Cousins.

Who knows?

Next: 10 best quarterbacks in 49ers franchise history

For now, though, Luck to San Francisco seems more like a fantasy than reality. But it’s a fantasy that would have a huge impact for the franchise if it became true.