Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers will look into anything they think will make their team better. It’s something the coach has remained steadfast on any time player personnel decisions have come up during his 49ers tenure. That remained the case Monday when he was asked about recently-waived quarterback Baker Mayfield.
The Panthers on Monday placed Mayfield on waivers, making the No. 1 pick available for any team that wants to put in a claim. Perhaps Shanahan was slow-playing his feelings, but he didn’t sound interested in acquiring the struggling QB.
“We look into everything, but that’d surprise me right now,” Shanahan said in a conference call. “We have to discuss more this afternoon, but I’ve always been a fan of his, but I feel real good about our players and we’ll look into everything, but I feel pretty good with where we’re at right now.”
San Francisco’s quarterback situation was thrown into flux for the second time this year when veteran signal caller Jimmy Garoppolo broke his foot in a Week 13 win against the Dolphins. He’ll require season-ending surgery, leaving the 49ers to turn to rookie seventh-round pick Brock Purdy.
They’ll add veteran QB Josh Johnson off the Broncos practice squad to back up Purdy, and it sounds like Shanahan is comfortable with the 15-year journeyman sticking around as the team’s QB2.
“Just having him here in 2020 for that last month of the year, we got to see a lot of him just as a player, which we like the player, but more importantly, we really like the guy,” Shanahan said of Johnson. “I think that’s why he has been around for so long and so many places continue to bring him back because he is a natural leader. Guys like playing with him, guys like playing around him, he has a skillset that can go in and give you a chance to win and a person we really believe in and we feel fortunate to get him back here.”
Purdy and Johnson will work as the two QBs on the active roster while Jacob Eason continues to function as the practice squad signal caller.
There’s a chance San Francisco decides to place a waiver claim on Mayfield, but at No. 24 in the waiver priority they might strike out regardless. It sounds like they’re content with rolling the dice on their QB situation and letting Mayfield figure out how to get his career on track elsewhere.
