Though the 49ers are winless through their first five games of the 2017 season, it’s hard to argue the team doesn’t look much improved from last year’s squad that was rarely competitive. San Francisco has lost their last four games by a combined 11 points, and surprisingly look like a team that could be pretty decent with more consistant quarterback play.
With Brian Hoyer as a place holder for this season, the 49ers’ quarterback of the future will likely come into the fold next season, and John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan will have massive pressure on them to pick the right guy. The question is, should they break the bank for the likes of Kirk Cousins, who is expected to hit free agency, or should they draft one of the handful of elite college quarterbacks, assuming they have a top five draft pick?
ESPN Insider Adam Schefter joined Murph & Mac on Thursday morning, and said that the 49ers’ quarterback decision this offseason will go down as a significant moment in franchise history.
“100 percent,” Schefter said when asked if this is going to be a pivotal moment in franchise history. “It’s one of those crossroads moments that will dictate where this franchise goes in the long term because either they’re going to aggressively pursue a guy like Kirk Cousins, which they can do, will have the means to do, the flexibility to do, or they can say we’re going to ride with college quarterback “x” because we have a high pick, and there’s no need to go spend $28 million, $29 million a year on Kirk Cousins when we can go get this quarterback.
“And by the way when you draft a quarterback, and you hit on that quarterback, the financial savings and impact it has on the rest of your team is incredible. Just look what happened when the Seahawks drafted Russell Wilson in the third round, with the 75th overall pick and got to pay him on a discounted contract, where they were able to go give other money to guys like Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril and Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas and all the other players they were able to build up, because the quarterback was significantly cheaper, and that also I think this will be a part of that. It has to be a part of this discussion.”
The Redskins will have the option to allow Cousins to hit the free agent market next offseason, and then be forced to pay him a close to $29 million per year long term deal, or give him the one-year franchise tag for a third consecutive season, likely to be worth $34.5 million. Schefter says that if the Redskins allow Cousins to hit the open market, the 49ers, who still have the most cap room in the NFL, can put the Redskins in a tough position.
“You don’t see a quarterback at age 29 hit the free agent market, it doesn’t happen, but it’s going to happen here,” Schefter said. “Maybe he’ll get the franchise tag, maybe he’ll get the transition tag, we’ll see. But it’s a really unusual situation, there are any number of teams that need quarterbacks and I’ll throw one other thing into the mix. If the 49ers continue down this road, and I think they’ve played much improved football and the signs are very encouraging, but they’re still winless. So let’s just say they have a top three pick, what if they know they’re going to be able to draft Sam Darnold or Josh Rosen or Josh Allen or Baker Mayfield, you pick the quarterback. So if they’re in a position where they get to pick a quarterback are they going to be willing to spend, let’s say $28 million a year on Kirk Cousins?
“If that’s the route that the 49ers and Kirk Cousins decide they want to go, you can take it to the bank that they’re going to make Washington’s life miserable. What that entails we’ll see.”
Listen to the full interview below, for Schefter’s comments on Cousins, skip to the 6:00 minute mark.