San Francisco 49ers Admit it you might need some help at Quarterback this offseason

San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch spoke to the media this week from the site of the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.

There was some discussion of San Francisco’s draft plans. But with no pick in each of the first two rounds and significant questions at quarterback, that’s where attention quickly turned.

A seventh-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, Brock Purdy played well as a rookie a season ago. In fact, he led San Francisco to the NFC Championship Game after replacing the injured Jimmy Garoppolo in December. Garoppolo himself replaced another injured 49ers quarterback in Trey Lance in Week 2.

If that wasn’t enough, San Francisco lost Purdy to an elbow injury in January’s conference title game against the Philadelphia Eagles. He has yet to undergo surgery and may not be ready for the start of the 2023 season. See a theme here? San Francisco’s quarterback situation remains largely unsettled with NFL free agency set to open on March 15.

Brock Purdy injury update and impact on San Francisco 49ers’ offseason plans (forbes.com)

It was in this that Lynch admitted that San Francisco could look for outside options on the open market.

“We love the two guys we have,” Lynch said this week from Indianapolis. “Can we look elsewhere? Of course, because I think that’s just good work.”

There are certainly financial hurdles for San Francisco to overcome if they’re going to add a viable quarterback to compete with two largely inexperienced interior options. Per Over the Cap, the 49ers have less than $6 million in cap space. Certainly, Lynch and Co. is going to add more space through remodels and the like. But this is not a good position to be in.

What we do know is that longtime starter Jimmy Garoppolo is as good as it gets. “We admire the teammate he was. I think he’s probably run his course,” Lynch said of Garoppolo on Tuesday.

With the 49ers openly questioning Lance’s ability to stay healthy and Purdy’s own injury issues right now, it stands to reason that San Francisco would do everything they can to add a veteran signal caller to the mix.

How the San Francisco 49ers Could Address Their Quarterback Situation

First, let’s completely rule out the possibility of four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers landing in Northern California. Aside from San Francisco’s cap situation, he doesn’t have the draft pick assets to offer the Green Bay Packers in a trade for the future Hall of Famer. The same can be said for Baltimore Ravens star Lamar Jackson.

Instead, the 49ers will be looking for a quarterback with a lot of starting experience who can come in and act as a veteran presence for Purdy and Lance. The good news? There are a ton of quarterbacks who fit that description to hit NFL Free Agency.

Former No. 2 picks Marcus Mariota (Atlanta Falcons) and Carson Wentz (Washington Commanders) were just released by their respective teams. Despite their recent struggles, both have plenty of starting experience and have enjoyed some success throughout their careers.

Former NFL MVP Matt Ryan is on his last legs after some big games in his first season with the Indianapolis Colts. He’s also likely to hit free agency with Indianapolis releasing the borderline future Hall of Famer. Ryan won this MVP by working with 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan when the latter was the offensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons in 2016.

Other possible options include Baker Mayfield, Jacoby Brissett, Gardner Minshew, Teddy Bridgewater, Andy Dalton and Taylor Heinicke.

Those aren’t exactly the names 49ers fans want to hear associated with their team. With that said, the San Francisco team has made it clear that they are comfortable with Lance and Purdy competing for the starting job in 2023. Barring the 49ers receiving bad news about Purdy’s pending surgery, I don’t expect them to change Lynch and Co. upping their mentality and depleting more capital at the quarterback position.

Simply put, San Francisco’s roster isn’t built to go in that direction right now.