Quarterback temptations remain despite top free agents off board
Business sure picked up Tuesday for veteran NFL quarterbacks.
None, however, headed for the 49ers, and that still won’t be enough to end the incessant speculation about Jimmy Garoppolo’s potential successor or upgraded backup.
Off the market went Jameis Winston (New Orleans), Ryan Fitzpatrick (Washington), Andy Dalton (Chicago), Jacoby Brissett (Miami) and Tyrod Taylor (Houston), not to mention Cam Newton re-enlisting with New England last week.
No free agent out there can supplant Garoppolo on this year’s depth chart, right? Well, none of those aforementioned would have anyhow. Sexier names still linger out there to fuel chatter.
The Texans’ acquisition of Taylor — reportedly an incentive-laden, $12.5 million deal — could signify that they might cave to Deshaun Watson’s trade demand. That keeps alive, perhaps further stokes, speculation about the 49ers being a trade partner, though an absurd asking price should give coach Kyle Shanahan and GM John Lynch serious pause.
Alex Smith remains out there too, having left Washington after his 2020 comeback. He could be ideal insurance to Garoppolo in a second act with the 49ers (No. 1 pick in 2005, traded to the Chiefs in 2013).
What about Sam Darnold? He remains
on the New York Jets and would make sense to stay there while a probable rookie such as Zach Wilson or Justin Fields picks up the 49ers-esque scheme. If the Jets truly wish to unload him for a second-day draft pick, the 49ers can swing that for a 2021 audition, preferably for No. 102 overall (third round) than No. 43 (second round).
Dalton drew interest from the 49ers, according to the NFL Network, and that should come as no surprise considering their stated desire to find a strong backup who could fill in a couple games — or a half-season like Dalton did in Dallas.
Still out there are Mitchell Trubisky, Mike Glennon, Joe Flacco and other names who have made fan bases cringe over the years.
Shanahan spent hours watching film on Trubisky and even attended his predraft workout in 2017, so with him still unemployed and not welcome in Chicago anymore, the 49ers could be a great landing spot for him.
What about the draft? Indeed. Over a month of more quarterback speculation awaits with mock drafts connecting the 49ers to such options as Wilson, Fields, Trey Lance, Mac Jones and more.
The 49ers’ depth chart at quarterback: Jimmy, Josh and Josh. That would be the 29-year-old Garoppolo ahead of 34-year-old journeyman Josh Johnson and 24-year-old journeyman Josh Rosen.
Shanahan and Lynch haven’t apprised the 49ers media of their 2021 plans. They’ve been silent since a day after last season’s 6-10 misery, as has Garoppolo.
Despite Shanahan’s and Lynch’s repeated vows that Garoppolo remains their quarterback, skeptics will question that until Week 1 arrives in six long months. That’s because of Garoppolo’s injury history that derailed two of the past three seasons, all of which the 49ers brass’ acknowledged heading into an offseason in which one need was to upgrade the backup options.
C.J. Beathard and Nick Mullens, Shanahan’s entrusted backups since 2017, are unsigned.
Fullback Kyle Juszczyk remains baffled why Garoppolo’s job security remains a hot-button topic.
“I don’t know what it is. It’s unfortunate, because I don’t think he deserves all the criticism he gets,” Juszczyk said Tuesday on SiriusXM NFL Radio. “He’s able to shoulder it and there are times he wishes he did better, like every player in the NFL.
“The amount of scrutiny he gets is unbelievable. This is a guy that led a team to the Super Bowl not too long ago and has played some really good football. He’s got like an 80% winning percentage when he’s healthy and out there.”
That is the same mantra Shanahan, Lynch and seemingly every other 49er states in defending Garoppolo. Outsiders are the ones who keep shelling the 49ers’ quarterback situation.
“The guy just wins and the great thing is that he really doesn’t let the outside noise affect him. He’s so good about blocking that out,” Juszczyk added. “I’m not really worried about Jimmy being down, about what everybody is saying about him. If anything, it’s going to motivate him.
“The guy is going to work extremely hard to battle back this year and have his best year.”
And he’ll do so without looking over his shoulder at Dalton, Brissett, Fitzgerald, Taylor or Winston.
• Cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon agreed to a one-year deal with the Seahawks, according to multiple reports. He is the second 49ers free agent to land elsewhere, following wide receiver Kendrick Bourne (three-year deal Monday with Patriots).
• The 49ers must send their original seventhround pick in next month’s draft to the Eagles, after wide receiver Marquise Goodwin reverted back to the 49ers because of a clause in last year’s trade. Goodwin opted out of last season amid COVID-19 concerns. The 49ers, according to a team spokesman, will ship their original seventh-round pick in return for the 2020 sixth-round choice they received (and used on tight end Charlie Woerner) in the swap for Goodwin, who is expected to be released by the 49ers with no dead-money cost to their salary cap.