Ranking 49ers’ 4 quarterback options from worst to best
By Peter Panacy
49ers quarterbacking option No. 3: A veteran free agent
It’d be one thing if the Niners could somehow engineer a trade for Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
However, with Rodgers all but saying he wasn’t heading to San Francisco, let’s just cross that off the list. Besides, minus first- or second-round picks in the 2023 NFL Draft, it’s not like the 49ers can engineer a trade of that magnitude anyway.
The 2023 free-agent class of quarterbacks is provocative, yes, perhaps highlighted by former Las Vegas Raiders signal-caller Derek Carr. Yet someone like Carr and even Jimmy Garoppolo won’t want to join the Niners to merely be a bridge to either Trey Lance or Brock Purdy.
That means San Francisco would have to settle on a stopgap veteran to hold the line, potentially as short as a two- or three-game timeframe if either Lance or Purdy wasn’t completely ready and/or competent enough to play.
Would names like Andy Dalton, Sam Darnold, Teddy Bridgewater, Jacoby Brissett or even Baker Mayfield spark the conversation?
Probably not. Especially if the asking price is anything more than a low-level backup.
However, at least all of those names would bring some extensive experience to the table on a 49ers team loaded with offensive talent.