How Pressing of a Need is Backup Quarterback for the 49ers?
One position that the San Francisco 49ers will likely look to address in free agency is backup quarterback.
Sam Darnold is set to be a free agent with his name being a potential interest for teams like the Denver Broncos. He could be as good as gone, which all depends on his desire of a starting role. Either way, I'd suspect the 49ers will approach him first on returning since he is already embedded in the offense.
Should Darnold not be an option, then the 49ers will need to scramble for his replacement. Throughout the years the 49ers have heavily valued the backup quarterback position. There has always needed to be a player who could be serviceable for multiple games as a starter. Players like Jacoby Brissett or Ryan Tannehill could peak the 49ers' interest. It really all depends on how the 49ers feel it needs to be solidified.
So, how pressing of a need is a backup quarterback for the 49ers?
Not pressing at all. It is time for the 49ers to start devaluing the backup quarterback position. No other team in the NFL gets this much discussion over their backup quarterback than the 49ers in the last five years. That is all because of Jimmy Garoppolo. His lasting legacy for the 49ers is making the backup quarterback an actually important position.
The reality is that if Brock Purdy goes down for the year, then the 49ers have no shot of winning the Super Bowl. Having a Nick Foles Cinderella run with the Philadelphia Eagles is an outlier that should not be expected to happen. My editor Grant Cohn pushed back on this topic, saying only nine starters at quarterback played the full season, which indicates that backups are important.
Well, how many teams that had a backup quarterback for multiple games make the playoffs?
The Cleveland Browns are the most notable, then there is the Houston Texans when C.J. Stroud missed two games, and lastly the Pittsburgh Steelers. I don't count the Los Angeles Rams with Matthew Stafford because he really only missed one game due to injury. And really, the Steelers probably don't count either since they ended up sticking with their backup quarterback in Mason Rudolph who was the best one anyways.
This is the reality of being a playoff contending team. If your quarterback goes down for the season or misses a large chunk of games, then it is over for you. Every team that made the playoffs outside of the Browns didn't have significant time missed from their quarterback. Because of that, the 49ers need to stop valuing the backup quarterback so highly when they finally have a fully fit quarterback with no concerns.
The 49ers should not offer a $4.5 million deal or more to any quarterback in free agency. Nothing more than $2.5 million should be offered, then they should draft a quarterback. That way they have one veteran backup and a young player to groom. No longer should it be a position that is financially high.
Treat it as every team that has an unquestioned starting quarterback, which is as a filler position now.
