The San Francisco 49ers have a bit of a crowded quarterback room as it is, but one more is throwing his hat in the ring: Robert Griffin III.
The 31-year-old quarterback, who spent the last few seasons as a backup with the Baltimore Ravens, believes he could be the perfect mentor to 49ers first-round draft pick Trey Lance.
“To be honest, I don’t think they have a guy on the roster that would be better situated than myself to come in and mentor the kid,” Griffin said on Bleacher Report’s “Draft Night” show.
Griffin, whose career was thwarted due to injuries, certainly has a strong argument to make: he is a former first-round pick who was a dual-threat at quarterback and played in Kyle Shanahan’s offense while with the Washington Football Team.
Shanahan was Griffin’s offensive coordinator when he won the AP Rookie of the Year in 2012 while his father, Mike Shanahan, was the head coach.
Of course, the 49ers do not have much room to add another quarterback to the roster.
In addition to Lance, Jimmy Garoppolo, Nate Sudfeld and Josh Rosen are all on the depth chart. Most teams usually dress two quarterbacks and carry a third throughout the season on the practice squad in case of an emergency.
Garoppolo has been at the center of trade rumors in recent weeks as the 49ers could look to deal the 29-year-old veteran and let Lance fully take over the starting role.
While Griffin has served as a backup and mentor to 2019 MVP Lamar Jackson the last three seasons, he remains a free agent.
The idea of Griffin helping Lance along in his development is an intriguing one, though, and perhaps something the 49ers would entertain down the road if Griffin remains unsigned.
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