By the time the 49ers advanced to last season’s NFC championship game, their quarterback depth chart had already taken some serious damage. Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance had already been lost for the season, but the offense maintained a high level of performance with rookie Brock Purdy at the helm.
When Purdy suffered a serious elbow injury in the game’s first quarter, though, and backup Josh Johnson was removed after being diagnosed with a concussion, the burden proved too much to overcome. Had the team somehow managed to sneak past the Eagles, though, and into Super Bowl LVII, San Francisco had a surprising solution for how to approach the big game.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed to reporters on Thursday that the team would have brought in retired quarterback Philip Rivers to fill in. Rivers, 41, last appeared in an NFL game in 2020.
