The San Francisco 49ers are set in their quarterback room going into 2025 with Brock Purdy and Mac Jones. However, it is an interesting exercise to take a look at where all of the former Niners quarterbacks under head coach Kyle Shanahan currently are.
Shanahan has had a good number of quarterbacks since he took over as head coach back in 2017.
Let's take a look at the whereabouts of each QB he has had going in chronological order.
Brian Hoyer
The first regular season game Shanahan coached for the 49ers back in 2017 featured Brian Hoyer behind center. He started six games for San Francisco that season and lost all of them before he was released by the team, subsequently heading to the New England Patriots as a free agent shortly thereafter.
Now, Hoyer is a free agent. He last played for the Las Vegas Raiders in 2023. There is still a chance a team could sign him, but if not the 39-year-old journeyman may opt to retire soon.
C.J. Beathard
In that 2017 season, Hoyer was benched in favor of C.J. Beathard whom the 49ers had selected in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft out of Iowa. Beathard struggled in San Francisco, but he stuck around with the team through the 2020 season.
He has been with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Miami Dolphins since his time with the Niners and most recently appeared for Jacksonville in 2023. He is still a free agent, so we will have to see if a team picks him up as a potential practice squad option.
While the Iowa product was largely a bust, he did help the Niners land Brock Purdy, so he ended up helping the team in the long run.
Jimmy Garoppolo
San Francisco traded for Jimmy Garoppolo in that 2017 and got their quarterback of the future...until he wasn't anymore. We know Jimmy G's time in San Francisco was tumultuous with lots of highs and lows.
He now finds himself as a backup to Matthew Stafford on the Los Angeles Rams, which has the potential to create a hilarious situation with Davante Adams there.
Nick Mullens
The 49ers had to rely upon Nick Mullens quite a bit during both the 2018 and 2020 seasons when Garoppolo was injured. He did okay for the Niners and has bounced around a bit as a backup.
Last season he played in a few games with the Minnesota Vikings but will be backing up Trevor Lawrence in Jacksonville in 2025.
Trey Lance
The Trey Lance debacle stings a lot less given the emergence of Brock Purdy. However, it is still remarkable that the 49ers gave up so much to get a guy who was a complete bust. They traded him to the Dallas Cowboys a few years ago but he did not do great there and now finds himself trying to earn a spot with the Los Angeles Chargers although early reports are not great.
Josh Johnson
Most 49ers fans would like to forget that Josh Johnson ever played for the team because it brings back dark memories of him having to fill in for an injured Brock Purdy during the NFC Championship against the Philadelphia Eagles.
He has played for almost half the teams in the NFL and is currently a member of the Washington Commanders.
Sam Darnold
Sam Darnold had a solid lone season with San Francisco serving as Brock Purdy's backup. He was with Minnesota last season and had a great year filling in for the injured J.J. McCarthy which has earned him the starting job with the Seattle Seahawks so the niners will see him in Week 1.
Brandon Allen
I had the distinct misfortune of watching Brandon Allen's lone start with the 49ers last season as the team was routed by the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.
He now finds himself on the Tennessee Titans as they try to rebuild.
Joshua Dobbs
Joshua Dobbs started the regular season finale of San Francisco's brutal 2024 season. He has bounced around from team to team in his career and is now with the New England Patriots.
Some of these names you may not have thought about in a while, but all of them played quarterback for the 49ers under Kyle Shanahan. Let's hope that five years from now the only man who has started games for the Niners is their franchise quarterback Brock Purdy.
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