Three Ideal Backup Quarterback Options for the 49ers in 2023

Following a season in which the 49ers ran out of quarterbacks due to injury, San Francisco is in the market for a veteran backup to Trey Lance in 2023.

The 49ers have a quarterback injury problem that ended up being their demise this past season, and now Trey Lance, who is coming off ankle surgery, is the only healthy QB on the roster.

To make things worse, Brock Purdy is set to have surgery on his torn UCL and will likely miss time. Trey Lance, who has sustained multiple injuries during his two seasons in the NFL, looks slated to start in 2023. His availability will be crucial since the QB depth will likely not be as good as it was this season.

With San Francisco needing a backup quarterback, it'd be best to have a veteran as an insurance policy rather than a young quarterback who needs to develop. Here are three ideal free-agent quarterbacks the 49ers can realistically sign this offseason.

Andy Dalton

With a dozen years of experience in the NFL, Dalton would be one of the most realistic options for the 49ers as a backup quarterback in free agency. The 35-year-old should not be too expensive and could run the offense nicely. This past season in New Orleans, Dalton completed 66.7 percent of his passes and threw for 2,871 yards with 18 touchdown passes and nine interceptions in 14 starts.

The difference for Dalton in San Francisco would be that he'd have Kyle Shanahan as his play-caller, who put both his second and third-string quarterbacks in a great position to succeed in 2022. Elite talents would also surround the veteran on offense, like Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, George Kittle, and Trent Williams as his left tackle protecting his blind side.

If a seventh-round rookie could step in and look like a good starting quarterback in 2022, Dalton can be at least serviceable for a few games if needed.

Sam Darnold

The former first-round pick from USC would be one of the most talented backups the 49ers could pursue in free agency. Sam Darnold started six games last season for the Carolina Panthers. While he could have looked better, Carolina isn't a team with stability. They fired their head coach early in the season, traded their best player to San Francisco, and went into a complete rebuild.

Darnold has shown flashes of his arm talent in the NFL and has made some difficult throws during his time in the league. While he is not a starting quarterback, the 49ers wouldn't need him to be. Ideally, he would only be required as an insurance policy until Brock Purdy could suit up for games.

To have a backup with arm talent like Darnold and some youth as a 25-year-old while still having a handful of years in the NFL under his belt could be a good bargain for the right price. He has had his fair share of head-scratching plays in his career, but head-scratching mistakes from a quarterback on a small salary in a backup role are easier to accept than on an $18 million salary.

Jacoby Brissett

As we saw with the switch from Jimmy Garoppolo to Brock Purdy, it is convenient when your quarterback has the athletic ability to extend broken plays and improvise. Jacoby Brissett is the better athlete of these three options and would make a solid backup to Trey Lance.

Brissett started 11 games for the Cleveland Browns this season, totaling 2,608 passing yards, 12 touchdown passes, and six interceptions while completing 64 percent of his passes. Brissett also finished the season with 243 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.

If the 49ers could bring in Brissett at the right price, it would be very convenient knowing their three options at quarterback next season have the athletic ability to scramble and extend plays. San Francisco should be able to trust the 30-year-old as their backup with 48 starts under his belt, including the fact that he started most of this past season due to Deshaun Watson's suspension.

The 49ers have much bigger needs than a backup quarterback and shouldn't overcompensate for one in free agency. But what we learned for sure in the NFC title game as Josh Johnson became the man under center, this offense can't succeed with just anybody at quarterback. 

With a thin QB room as of now, John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan would be wise to bring any of these three in as they should come at a reasonable cost and can be a good contingency plan just in case the injury pattern under center were to continue.