The preseason may be coming to a close, but the 49ers backup quarterback discussion isn’t going anywhere.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Tuesday in a press conference before practice said that he won’t announce who the backup quarterback will be until closer to the regular season opener in Pittsburgh on Sept. 10.
He also indicated that the backup QB could rotate depending on the week, although given Shanahan’s apparent disdain for variance in his scheme it’s more likely that the backup QB in Week 1 will remain there as long as Brock Purdy is healthy.
The club will also need to designate a third emergency QB under the NFL’s new emergency QB rule, so that player won’t be able to enter a game unless the two QBs ahead of him get hurt. Even if Shanahan wants to avoid clearly stating who the backup is, he’ll need to this year.
San Francisco has one more preseason game coming up Friday at home against the Chargers. After that they’ll have until 1:00pm Pacific Time on Tuesday, Aug. 29 to trim their roster to 53 players. From there the head coach will have 11 days before the regular season opener to officially decide who his backup will be.
Given the lack of clarity around that position throughout the offseason, it’s not a surprise Shanahan plans to continue waiting to make anything concrete.
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