4 free-agent quarterbacks 49ers can target to push Trey Lance

49ers mentor for Trey Lance No. 3: Tyrod Taylor

It’s been a long time since Brian Hoyer had any substantial success as a starter, and sometimes a quarterback with some sort of winning pedigree can be a bit more valuable than someone who’s merely been a journeyman backup for the bulk of his career.

At this stage, Houston Texans quarterback Tyrod Taylor is little more than a starting-caliber backup, a stopgap option for a bad team (like Houston) and nothing else. Yet Taylor’s three-year starting stint with the Buffalo Bills between 2015 and 2017, one which produced a Pro Bowl nod, has some merit.

Taylor, whose journey around the NFL has been nearly as profound as that of fellow journeyman quarterback Josh Johnson, once boasted a skill set not quite unlike that of Trey Lance: a mobile, dual-threat signal-caller who had to learn when to use his legs when elements of the play broke down.

That stint in Buffalo was a prime example of that, as he rushed for 1,575 yards and 14 touchdowns during his three years there.

But the biggest challenge Taylor would have mentoring Lance would be teaching him how to refrain from relying on his scrambling abilities too much.

That serves a purpose.