49ers’ bizarre Super Bowl quarterback plan included Philip Rivers

The 49ers’ quarterback scenario turned determined on the finish of final season.

Trey Lance, Jimmy Garoppolo and Brock Purdy had been all injured, and it led to a cameo from Josh Johnson — the 37-year-old journeyman with 9 profession begins and nil postseason snaps — replacing Purdy in the NFC Championship game against the Eagles.

But when the 49ers superior to Tremendous Bowl 2023, head coach Kyle Shanahan may need turned to Philip Rivers, who hadn’t logged a snap in two years.

“He was ready to,” Shanahan told reporters Thursday. “Stuff we talked about all through the entire yr. We might’ve needed to seen how that was for the Tremendous Bowl, however that was the plan a lot of the yr.”

The weird plan, if executed, would have resulted in Rivers’ first look because the Colts’ season-ending loss to the Payments of their January 2021 postseason recreation, which capped his 17-year profession outlined by the primary 16 — and eight Professional Bowl choices — with the Chargers.

Buzz in regards to the 49ers’ plan began to emerge after the NFL Scouting Mix in March, when Wealthy Eisen reported on his show that Rivers contacted the Dolphins — coping with Tua Tagovailoa’s harm and needing to begin Skylar Thompson within the postseason — and the 49ers a couple of possible-late season return.

However after that report, Rivers, who coaches soccer at St. Michael Catholic in Alabama, clarified to AL.com that he didn’t attain out to groups and that “the ship has sailed” relating to any NFL comeback.

“I heard from a few groups simply sort of checking in,” Rivers informed AL.com in March. “I didn’t contact anybody, and I’m not going anyplace. I believe possibly some groups, with some guys taking place, could have been simply searching for a contingency plan, however nothing got here of it.”

The 49ers’ quarterback dilemma began when Lance, who gained the job over Garoppolo in coaching camp, suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Week 2.

Then, after guiding the 49ers to a 7-3 report after taking up, Garoppolo broke his foot, and that led to the introduction of Purdy — the 2022 NFL Draft’s Mr. Irrelevant who gained his first seven video games earlier than an elbow harm restricted his throwing in opposition to the Eagles.

However Johnson, Purdy’s alternative within the NFC Championship recreation, suffered a concussion, and the 49ers had been caught with Purdy, who couldn’t throw a cross, for the ultimate 20-plus minutes of their 31-7 loss.

Purdy had offseason elbow surgical procedure, and the 49ers additionally signed former Jets quarterback Sam Darnold to compete with Purdy and Lance for the beginning position — even with Shanahan calling Purdy the “real deal” because the obvious favourite — as soon as Garoppolo bolted to the Raiders in free company.