Whenever a starting quarterback goes down, the approach to filling the void becomes either “next man up” or “next man in.”
The 49ers for now will elevate C.J. Beathard to the starting lineup, and also potentially promote Nick Mullens from the practice squad to the 53-man roster. The fact that they’re reportedly working out Tom Savage suggests that they’re at least willing to look elsewhere.
So where else could they look? They can sign a free agent, pluck a player from a practice squad, or attempt to pull off a trade. The free-agent options aren’t plentiful, as evidenced by the fact that the name at the top of the call list was Tom Savage.
Other free agents presently on the market include Landry Jones, Paxton Lynch, EJ Manuel, and Colin Kaepernick (that’s technically true), Garrett Grayson, Josh Woodrum, Kyle Allen, Garrett Gilbert, Nic Shimonek, Luis Perez, Bryce Petty, Peter Pujals, J.T. Barrett, Joe Callahan, Jack Heneghan, Nick Mullens, Austin Allen, Connor Jessop, Matt Barkley, and Austin Davis.
Fifteen quarterbacks currently are on practice squads: Davis Webb (Jets), Danny Etling (Patriots), Christian Hackenberg (Bengals), Phillip Walker (Colts), Tanner Lee (Jaguars), Logan Woodside (Titans), Chase Litton (Chiefs), Cardale Jones (Chargers), Tyler Bray (Bears), Jake Rudock (Lions), Kurt Benkert (Falcons), Connor Cook (Panthers), Brandon Allen (Rams), Alex McGough (Seahawks), and Chad Kanoff (Cardinals).
As trade possibilities go, the Dolphins currently have four quarterbacks on the roster, with Brock Osweiler, David Fales, and Luke Falk behind Ryan Tannehill. The Jets have Josh McCown backing up Sam Darnold; they could trade him and then elevate Davis Webb.
The Ravens still have Robert Griffin III, but a Shanahan reunion would be a long shot, to say the least. The Browns have former starter Tyrod Taylor and odd man out Drew Stanton, now that Baker Mayfield is QB1.
The Texans have Brandon Weeden (who was cut by the Browns when Shanahan arrived as offensive coordinator) and Joe Webb behind Deshaun Watson. The Broncos have Kevin Hogan behind Case Keenum and Chad Kelly.
The Giants have Alex Tanney and Kyle Lauletta backing up Eli Manning. The Eagles have Nick Foles and Nate Sudfeld behind Carson Wentz. The Vikings have Trevor Siemian and Kyle Sloter behind Kirk Cousins.
Falcons backup Matt Schaub has spent time with Shanahan in the past, but the Falcons currently have no other backup to Matt Ryan, other than Benkert. With Jameis Winston returning to the Bucs on Tuesday, Ryan Griffin (or maybe even Winston) could be expendable. And the Cardinals have both Sam Bradford and Mike Glennon behind new starter Josh Rosen.
Then there are the Saints. They acquired Teddy Bridgewater for a third-round pick from the Jets. Could they flip him to the 49ers for something more than what they gave up? That would depend presumably on how much the 49ers would offer. But it would be odd, to say the least, if the team that got Jimmy Garoppolo for a second-round pick would give up a second-round pick for Bridgewater.
The overall options aren’t great for the 49ers. And they’re not great for the networks either. The 49ers are due to play in prime time four times from Week Six through Week 10. Unless they do the completely unexpected and bring back Kaepernick, the NFL can kiss big ratings in those games goodbye.
