SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Yes, the 49ers really are just going to let others pilfer the NFL’s quarterback bazaar.
They’re positioned to merely bargain shop, even after running out of healthy quarterbacks last season as their Lombardi Trophy drought reached 28 years.
Their hopes rest on the comebacks of Trey Lance (foot fracture last season) and Brock Purdy (elbow surgery this Friday), a tandem that accounts for only $10.2 million of the 49ers’ $237.5 million cap limit next season.
No doubt, they’ll bring in other quarterbacks via free agency and the draft.
Just don’t expect an A-lister.
Those guys are either taken, too expensive or not interested in a relationship at the moment. For example:
— Aaron Rodgers: The New York Jets breached California airspace Tuesday to court Aaron Rodgers. Two years ago, the 49ers made a move for the Chico native (and their 2005 NFL draft reject), but the Packers weren’t as interested in sending him to an NFC rival. The 49ers own neither the assets to swoon the Packers in a trade, nor the $60 million needed this year for a quarterback they’re 4-0 against in the playoffs.
— Tom Brady: Could he be lured out of retirement for a second straight year? “Anyone who thinks I have time to come back to the NFL has never adopted a 2 month old kitten for their daughter,” Brady tweeted Tuesday. That came after NFL Network’s Rich Eisen relayed a rumor that Brady may not be done at age 45 and at ring No. 7. If Purdy’s surgery turns into a complete reconstruction and one-year recovery, and if Lance’s foot has a setback, maybe that could tempt Brady (at a salary number in the millions that match his age).
— Lamar Jackson: The Ravens assigned the non-exclusive franchise tag to the NFL’s 2019 MVP, which means it would take two first-round picks to wrestle him away with a ludicrous offer Baltimore is unwilling to watch. (Odds are the Ravens will match any offer.) Because the 49ers lack a first-round pick next month, they’d have to wait until after the draft to make their pitch with 2024 and 2025 picks in hand. Jackson, meanwhile, can wait to re-sign on the tag or a greater rate, once the market soars even further with summer extensions for Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert.
— Derek Carr: He landed $100 million guaranteed after the Raiders took away his seat at the Vegas poker table. Carr grabbed the New Orleans Saints’ money Monday to immediately become the NFC South’s top quarterback, without a playoff win to his name, mind you. The Fresno State product kick-started the NFL’s QB spending spree.
— Geno Smith: The 49ers certainly weren’t going to pay him $35 million a year, not after beating him thrice last season. Still, Seattle gladly kept Smith after he delivered a playoff berth upon replacing franchise icon Russell Wilson.
— Daniel Jones: A 3,200-yard passer and 708-yard rusher? Sounds like the dual production the 49ers sought from Lance. But they’ll gladly let the New York Giants pay $40 million annually for Jones — after four years featuring 60 touchdown passes, 34 interceptions and 42 fumbles.
— Philip Rivers: Wait, who? Eisen also mentioned in his podcast that he heard last week that Rivers volunteered his services to the 49ers and the Miami Dolphins for their playoff runs that lacked healthier (and younger) options. Rivers, 41, disputed that, telling AL.com: “I didn’t contact anyone, and I’m not going anywhere. I think maybe some teams, with some guys going down, may have been just looking for a contingency plan, but nothing came of it. … I think it’s done.”
— Jimmy Garoppolo: He’ll be the No. 1 quarterback available in free agency, presuming Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch hold firm on their stance that Jimmy G feels gone, baby. Shoulder surgery last March kept Garoppolo around, to everyone’s benefit, but he took a pay cut with a no-tag clause that allows his freedom. Thus, a Dec. 4 foot fracture ended one of the most successful tenures by a 49ers quarterback.
— Next-best options: Matt Ryan (Colts, if released), Marcus Mariota (Falcons), Baker Mayfield (Rams), Andy Dalton (Saints), Carson Wentz (Commanders), Sam Darnold (Panthers), Jacoby Brissett (Browns), Taylor Heinicke (Commanders), Teddy Bridgewater (Dolphins), Nick Mullens (Vikings), Nate Sudfeld (Lions), Mike White (Jets), Joe Flacco (Jets), Drew Lock (Seahawks), Case Keenum (Bills), Jameis Winston (Saints, if released).
“There happen to be two young guys that we really like,” Lynch said Feb. 1 about forging ahead with Purdy and Lance.
“We’re content enough,” Shanahan added at that season-ending press conference.
Content does not equate to “ecstatic,” nor, for that matter, “desperate.”
Desperation got them Garoppolo in an Oct. 30, 2017 trade with New England. And it got them Lance in the 2021 NFL draft, on a layaway plan that includes their first-round pick in next month’s draft.
No matter how desperate they again may seem, a lot of money is tied up in a superstar-laden supporting cast, and a lot of draft picks were spent on deals for Lance and Christian McCaffrey.
Kirk Cousins ain’t walking through that door. Right?
