Somehow, the 49ers made it to the NFC Championship last season with their third-string quarterback.
The transition from Trey Lance to Jimmy Garoppolo to Brock Purdy – then eventually Josh Johnson in the NFC title game – has been well chronicled. But could it have been a different story last year for the 49ers?
According to longtime NFL media personality Rich Eisen, retired quarterback Philip Rivers reached out to the 49ers and Miami Dolphins last year to see if they’d be interested in his services. On The Rich Eisen Show Monday, he shared some juicy rumors that he heard at last week’s NFL scouting combine.
“We all know two teams that were quarterback-needy at the end of the season – starting third-stringers – and had a chance to go to the playoffs, and maybe make a deep run in the playoffs,” Eisen said Monday. “I’m Referring to the Miami Dolphins and, of course, the San Francisco 49ers.
“I heard that Philip Rivers contacted both of them to come back late last year. Philip Rivers contacted both of them, is what I heard, and that's the way I heard it, to see if they would come and it didn’t happen. Don't know why it didn't happen. But I heard that at the combine, that Philip, once his season was over, was kind of like, 'So the 49ers are going with Mr. Irrelevant?'”
Once Garoppolo went down with an ankle/foot injury in Week 13, the 49ers opted to sign the 36-year-old journeyman Johnson. Before he was ultimately knocked out of the game with a concussion, Johnson struggled with the 49ers offense and was called for three delay of game penalties in about two quarters of action.
Rivers retired in 2020 after a successful 17-year run in the NFL but two full off years is tough for anyone, even with his resume. Johnson was in game shape after being plucked up off the Denver Broncos practice squad, so he was probably a safer bet at the time.
These are just rumors that flew around the NFL combine last week and the season has been long decided, but you can’t help but play the ‘What if?’ game.
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