The 49ers have named Sam Darnold as their backup quarterback according to NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero. He also reported the club will be exploring its options on QB Trey Lance.
Darnold, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 draft, has been the more consistent player in camp and the preseason for San Francisco. It’s not a huge surprise that he wound up landing as the team’s backup signal caller.
For Lance, there’s been ups and downs throughout camp and the preseason that highlight his inexperience.
San Francisco may not want to keep a third-string QB that’s going to cost them $9.3 million against the cap this year. However, Lance knows the offense and still has immense upside as shown in his pair of preseason outings.
If the team cuts him, they’ll carry $14,612,151 in dead money this year with no savings. Next year they’d carry a $10,851,673 dead cap hit.
A trade would be more palatable financially. They’d carry dead cap hits of $5,540,956 the next two years, while saving just shy of $4 million this year and just over $5 million next year.
His value to the team as a third-stringer may be greater than his value on the trade market though, unless a team is willing to part with a quality player at a position of need for San Francisco like at defensive end or on the offensive line.
For now at least there’s a resolution to the QB madness in San Francisco. Brock Purdy is the starter. Darnold is the backup, and for now Lance is QB3.
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