General manager John Lynch this week acknowledged that he is not satisfied with Nick Mullens and CJ Beathard as the reserves behind starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
Lynch, speaking on the ‘Eye Test for Two’ podcast, reiterated that he expects Garoppolo to be the starting quarterback of the 49ers by 2021.
But he said the 49ers should consider the possibility that Garoppolo could sustain another injury that paves the team’s hope for backup.
“We need to isolate ourselves better,” said Lynch. “We need to have better options when he’s not around.”
Mullens is scheduled to be a limited free agent, while Beathard is scheduled to be an unlimited free agent.
With a declining salary cap from $ 198.2 million to somewhere north of $ 180 million, the 49ers face a balancing act of securing an upgrade at backup quarterback, while also leaving plenty of cap room to divert to other areas of need.
Garoppolo is currently counting $ 26.4 million at the limit. The 49ers could easily get about $ 10 million in cap relief with a restructured deal for Garoppolo that turns much of his planned $ 24.1 million salary into a signing bonus.
Those cap savings would not only help create room to redraw left-wing tackle Trent Williams and others, but a small portion could be reinvested in bolstering the back-up situation of the team behind Garoppolo.
Here are some experienced quarterbacks who could be options to fill that role on the 49ers depth chart: