San Francisco 49ers Might Already Have QB Plan In Place

The San Francisco 49ers are believed to be drafting a quarterback this year – but they very well may already have a plan in place that doesn’t include drafting a young signal caller.

The San Francisco 49ers, having picked up free agents Brian Hoyer and Matt Barkley – or like, the entire Chicago Bears quarterback depth chart last season – appear locked and loaded in the “bridge quarterback” department.

When new HC Kyle Shanahan spoke about bringing in a bridge quarterback to be a placeholder of sorts – until he could get the player under center he coveted – most assumed it was going to be through the upcoming NFL Draft.

But maybe, that’s not actually going to be the case.

There has been quite a bit of drama surrounding Kirk Cousins and Washington this offseason. For the second straight year, the team slapped him with the franchise tag. And along with the tag, a salary of around $24 million for the season.

But the Cousins and Washington soap opera this offseason hasn’t been without its share of drama – and a little bit of intrigue. To be fair, the entire offseason has been a bit of a dumpster fire for Washington, and one that has included a request for Cousins to be traded. (unless he didn’t)

The intriguing part of that request though, was that Cousins would only accept a trade to one team – the 49ers.

The Cousins-Shanahan connection is obvious and doesn’t require one to read the tea leaves or consult their oracle bones. Washington though, has already nixed the idea of a trade, opting to ride with Cousins and his $24 million dollar price tag through 2017 – with the hope of working out a long-term deal.

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Washington has until July 15 to work out that long-term deal or else it’s very likely that Cousins is going to hit the free agent market next season as it’s incredibly unlikely that Washington would use the tag on Cousins for a third straight year. If Washington did the unthinkable though, and chose to apply the tag again, Cousins would be in line for a staggering $34 million dollar payday.

Which makes the possibility of that happening a little less than zero. And given that the current word is that the two sides aren’t anywhere close to making that long-term deal materialize, it’s looking more and more likely that Cousins will be on the market next season.

Which brings us back to the 49ers.

Given the need to upgrade their talent level all across the board, it would be a big win for this team to not have to worry too much about the quarterback position. It would be a big win for them to be able to drop a guy in who knows Shanahan’s system, who’s had some success at the pro level, and is already entering his prime.

Having played for Shanahan already, and racking up a pretty impressive stat line over the past two seasons – his first significant action as a starter – Cousins would seem to fit the criteria of what San Francisco would want in a starting signal caller.

Over his last two seasons with Washington, Cousins has a 68 percent completion rate, has thrown for 9,083 yards, 54 touchdowns against just 23 interceptions. By most metrics, Cousins is a pretty solid starting quarterback in the league.

He would very likely flourish even more when immersed in Shanahan’s system. And it doesn’t hurt the cause at all that San Francisco went out and picked up one of Cousins’ favorite targets last season – Pierre Garcon.

Together, the Cousins-Garcon connection amassed 79 receptions for 1,041 yards and three scores. Garcon may be 30 – soon to be 31 – years old, but he’s showed that he still has plenty left in the tank. If Cousins were to join him in the Bay Area next season – and coupled with one of the league’s best rushing attacks – it could give the 49ers a pretty potent offense.

But what about drafting a young quarterback? It’s always risky to draft a quarterback – especially with a pick as high as San Francisco has. And with scouts torn about this year’s draft class, with questions about how ready or capable they are to be NFL quarterbacks, that makes rolling the dice even riskier.

It might be better to wait for Cousins, a quarterback who is entering his prime and is already established in the league. That will also allow the 49ers to focus their attention – not to mention their draft picks – on improving their other glaring areas of need.

They can ride out this season with Hoyer and/or Barkley — most don’t think the 49ers will be overly competitive this year anyway — and do what they can to win a few games as they rebuild the foundation of the organization.

That way, when free agency rolls around next season, they’ll already have some solid pieces in place, and can add an established quarterback like Cousins — which will help them on their road back to relevance.

And if that isn’t their plan – maybe it should be.