Nate Sudfeld should win 49ers No. 3 QB role over Josh Rosen

While the 49ers’ third-string quarterback battle isn’t particularly exciting, look for Nate Sudfeld to get the nod over the former Round 1 draft pick, Josh Rosen.

Understandably so, the pinnacle of San Francisco 49ers offseason discussion heading into 2021 is when rookie quarterback Trey Lance winds up taking over the job from the current starter, Jimmy Garoppolo.

That’s why the Niners traded up from No. 12 overall in this year’s NFL Draft to No. 3.

But head coach Kyle Shanahan is likely to keep three signal-callers on his 53-man roster this season. Behind Garoppolo and Lance, San Francisco has three others all pegged to compete for this spot on the depth chart: Josh Johnson, Josh Rosen and Nate Sudfeld.

Johnson, the journeyman, probably doesn’t figure much into the mix and was merely a late-season addition in 2020 to make up for the slew of injuries the 49ers already suffered at the position, namely in the wake of Garoppolo already being out and then-Niners quarterback Nick Mullens also suffering an injury.

Yet Rosen seems to be far more provocative a case.

Rosen, the No. 10 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft out of UCLA, still seems to be hinging on his laurels as a former top pick. And while the context of his NFL career hasn’t exactly been fair, including a regime change the offseason after he was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals that prompted his trade to the Miami Dolphins, it’s important to acknowledge Rosen’s own “bouncing around the league” so early.

Related Story: How does 49ers’ blockbuster draft trade affect Josh Rosen?

The Cardinals didn’t want him. Neither did the Dolphins. Then the eventual Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers elected to make Blaine Gabbert, not Rosen, their backup to quarterback Tom Brady in 2021.

All that led to San Francisco plucking Rosen off the Bucs practice squad late in 2020. It also prompted the assumption: If there’s anyone who can turn around Rosen’s career, it’s 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan.

Maybe. But that doesn’t mean Shanahan is interested in doing so.

49ers quarterback depth chart: Why Nate Sudfeld wins out over Josh Rosen

Sudfeld certainly wasn’t a high-profile offseason free-agent addition. He’s also never started a game since being a sixth-round pick of the Washington Football Team back in 2018, instead boasting just four games played and a 67.6 completion percentage on 37 attempts with one touchdown against one interception.

The 27-year-old Sudfeld likely can’t bank anymore on collegiate hype as Rosen can. Yet there are more than enough reasons why he’ll end up making the cut as the Niners’ No. 3 quarterback over either Rosen or Johnson.

For starters, Sudfeld worked with now-San Francisco quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello, who was essential in the 49ers discovering Mullens back in 2017 before moving on to the Denver Broncos and then the Philadelphia Eagles.

Scangarello worked with Sudfeld in Philly. And after the former rejoined Shanahan’s staff, Sudfeld eventually found himself with the Niners on a one-year deal.

The contract itself is also telling.

Sudfeld’s one-year deal, per Over the Cap, includes a guarantee of $252,000. Neither Johnson nor Rosen have any guaranteed money on their respective contracts. And while Shanahan will want to go with the best candidate to assume a third-tier role, money does play a factor.

In that regard, Sudfeld has the edge over Rosen, too.

So, in all honesty, the lengthy search Rosen has had to find a “forever home” at the NFL level, one dating back to his rookie year and being present ever since, likely continues into 2021. It’ll be Sudfeld, not Rosen, making San Francisco’s 53-man roster as the final backup to both Garoppolo and Lance.