SANTA CLARA — The 49ers wanted to keep all four of their quarterbacks, but that’s not much of a reality in the NFL.
Trey Lance eventually got the boot after four weeks of evaluation this preseason, as the 23-year-old was shipped to the Dallas Cowboys for a fourth-round pick shortly before Friday’s 23-12 preseason loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Niners’ hierarchy is now set, with Brock Purdy as QB1, Sam Darnold as QB2 and Brandon Allen as QB3. The trio had mixed results in Friday’s game, but Allen gave himself a harsh assessment after going 2-of-6 for 23 yards and an interception.
Allen's next two drives resulted in punts before he kneeled the ball to run out the clock on his final series.
“Not great today,” Allen said. “The first throw was behind the receiver, got picked and then tried to throw a screen and hit the lineman in the leg. Just not great all around for me. But it’s an opportunity to get some reps and to get some playing time. I’ll use that to learn from.”
It’s already been a wild few days for Allen, who flew back to Florida last week for the birth of his second son. By Friday, Allen learned that he has the inside track to be QB3. But with such a dud of a preseason performance, the 30-year-old said he’s not taking his spot on the roster for granted.
“After today, you never know,” Allen said.
Likewise, Kyle Shanahan doesn’t sound fully convinced that the 49ers will carry three quarterbacks on the initial 53-man roster, which will be determined by Tuesday.
“We'll see how our 53 works out to see if we're going to keep three or not,” Shanahan said.
Listening to the Niners brass, it seems they thought Allen was more apt to be a third-stringer than Lance, as QB3s get little-to-no practice reps, and Trey needs as much experience as he can get.
The “Brock Purdy rule” allows for teams to dress an emergency third quarterback on gamedays, but the QB has to be on the 53-man roster and the two guys ahead of him have to get injured before he gets in the game. If Allen makes the squad, it’ll be at the expense of another position.
If the 49ers cut Allen, his former team the Cincinnati Bengals might want to bring him back, especially after Joe Burrow suffered an injury scare this preseason. Allen backed up Burrow the past three seasons and current Bengals backups Trevor Siemian, Jake Browning and Reid Seinett reportedly have been unimpressive this preseason.
For now, it appears Allen will be playing the waiting game heading into Tuesday’s roster decisions.
“I don’t think my mindset has changed at all since the day I got here to now,” Allen said. “I’ve always just wanted to be the best I could with what I got. Obviously, now, it starts the regular season, so things change. So our whole focus now is (Week 1 opponent) Pittsburgh and in a couple days we’ll get down to 53 and see how everything shakes out.”
