The team that sparked a return of the third quarterback rule could end up with four quarterbacks on the 53-man roster.
49ers coach Kyle Shanahan told Michael Silver of the San Francisco Chronicle on Wednesday that Shanahan could decide to retain not three but four quarterbacks.
“If you have three quarterbacks good enough to make teams in the NFL, you always keep them,” Shanahan said. “And then that’s what I’m happy about, [because] I think we’ve got four right now. You don’t see many people keep four, but it’s been done before.”
The 49ers could keep three and sign one to the practice squad. However, cutting a quarterback runs the risk of losing him, either by waivers or free agency.
The current quarterbacks on the depth chart are Brock Purdy, Sam Darnold, Trey Lance, and Brandon Allen.
Shanahan could simply be puffing in the hopes of getting a trade offer for one of the quarterbacks, either Lance or Allen. Or maybe he really would keep four quarterbacks on the active roster.
In Washington, Shanahan’s father once kept four quarterbacks on the roster for a brief period of time, after Pat White performed well in the preseason and Mike Shanahan decided to keep Robert Griffin III, Kirk Cousins, Rex Grossman, and White.
The new third-quarterback rule requires teams to keep three on the active roster in order to dress a third quarterback who would be an emergency option on game days.
Many teams carry only two quarterbacks on the active roster. With every extra quarterback, it’s one fewer roster spot that can be devoted to a player who provides depth at a different position — and who can contribute on special teams.
