Will the 49ers Roll With Three Quarterbacks Into the Regular Season?

The 49ers have kept three quarterbacks on the roster before, so it can definitely happen this year with Brock Purdy and Nate Sudfeld.

Backup quarterbacks are kind of a big deal with the 49ers.

You can thank Jimmy Garoppolo for that. Nate Sudfeld was poised to be the backup to Trey Lance heading into the season, however Brock Purdy has emerged of late and hasn’t been too shabby considering he’s “Mr. Irrelevant” and all. Now, his last outing versus Houston in the preseason finale was shaky, but Purdy has shown some nice moments that indicate there is something the 49ers can work with. 

Initially, I thought he wouldn’t make the final cuts, but he has good chance to make it. So does Sudfeld given the fact the 49ers guaranteed him $2 million and really like him. If Kyle Shanahan doesn’t want to part with either, he could very well keep both players on as he’s done in the past with Nick Mullens and C.J. Beathard.

So will the 49ers roll with three quarterbacks into the regular season?

They won’t. 

Wasting a roster spot for a third quarterback is malpractice. It's an obsolete concept to hold onto three quarterbacks. Two is enough no matter the circumstance because the reality is if Trey Lance goes down due to injury for a long period of time, then the 49ers are done for. They're not getting by for more than a couple of games with Purdy or Sudfeld as the starter. 

Depth is something the 49ers have preached and worried about, especially with running backs, at other positions. To allow a third quarterback onto the active roster would be insane. The 49ers are without Jimmie Ward for the first four games of the season, so depth is already a need for them at safety. As much as I want to believe the 49ers will see it this way, I won’t put it past Shanahan to hold onto both Sudfeld and Purdy.

“Yeah, it's always hard, but it's something you debate every year,” said Shanahan on keeping three quarterbacks. “It’s something we'll debate this year. It's not always just the quarterbacks, it's how it plays out with other positions.”

And with how it’s playing out at other positions right now, there shouldn’t be a third quarterback. I would like to see the 49ers cut Sudfeld and sign him back to the practice squad. No one is going to claim him, so the 49ers will still have him around. It’s not like the reps he’ll get as a backup will progress him anyway. Purdy is the one who could be swooped up by another team if cut. He has more value than Sudfeld. Keeping him is the no-brainer, but does Shanahan think that?

We’ll see soon enough.