SF 49ers: 3 bridge quarterbacks to replace Jimmy Garoppolo in 2021

SF 49ers Bridge Option No. 2: Matt Barkley

Remember back when now-Buffalo Bills quarterback Matt Barkley was on the SF 49ers? You’d have to go back to 2017 during training camp and the preseason to recall that.

Barkley never made the 53-man roster that year and subsequently landed with the Arizona Cardinals, then the Cincinnati Bengals before joining Buffalo. Yet there’s an argument Barkley should have been the guy under center over another bridge-type quarterback that year, Brian Hoyer, who eventually won the job before losing it to C.J. Beathard, then his roster spot to Jimmy Garoppolo.

Ex-Niner Noise contributor Rich Madrid made that case back in 2017:

"At this point it should be abundantly clear Hoyer 1) should not be the starter but 2) likely will be because he knows the offense better than Barkley and Beathard. He is not the best quarterback on the roster, however. …I think Barkley should be the eventual starter by Week 1 of the NFL season, but it appears the nod is going to be given to Hoyer due to experience with the playbook. This does not mean he is better than Barkley."

Barkley also will have that knowledge of Kyle Shanahan’s offense, albeit limited from his brief time in 2017. The quarterback has also seen action in just four games since then, meaning he’ll likely be on the cheap and will come with the most minimal of expectations.

But that’s what bridge quarterbacks are, right?