© Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
SANTA CLARA — The 49ers are expected to work out several free agent quarterbacks Tuesday in the wake of Jimmy Garoppolo’s season-ending knee injury. The 49ers confirmed earlier Monday that Garoppolo tore his left ACL in the fourth quarter of San Francisco’s 38-27 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
The immediate plan is to elevate backup C.J. Beathard to the starting job and practice squad quarterback Nick Mullens to the backup spot. The 49ers are looking to add a third option.
“We are working out a bunch of guys tomorrow— I am not sure how many,” Kyle Shanahan said Monday.
The quarterbacks that Shanahan named include: Tom Savage, Kellen Clemens, T.J. Yates, and Matt Moore.
-Savage is a four-year NFL veteran with a career 2-7 record. In 2014, Shanahan, the Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator at the time, liked Savage coming out of Rutgers.
-Shanahan says he “knows for sure” Clemens will go through a workout with the 49ers. Clemens is a 12-year NFL veteran. A backup for most of his NFL career, Clemens has a starting record of 8-13.
-Shanahan said Yates is “possibly coming in” for a workout. Yates, a seven-year NFL veteran, has just 10 professional starts. He won four of them, one of which includes a memorable playoff victory. He led the Houston Texans to their first playoff birth ever in 2013. They beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 31-10, in the divisional round, making Yates the fifth rookie quarterback, at the time, to win a playoff game.
-Shanahan said he “doesn’t know for sure yet” whether Moore will come in for a workout, but he was invited. Moore, a 10-year NFL veteran, is the most experienced starter out of the names Shanahan mentioned. Moore has a 15-15 career starting record. He played for the Miami Dolphins last year, losing both of his starts.
Shanahan was asked whether he would consider bring in former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Shanahan responded, “No,” then elaborated, saying he considered Kaepernick last year but discovered he doesn’t fit the type of offense Shanahan runs with the 49ers.
“When you get into your third and fourth guy, whoever that is, we like to bring in guys we felt you don’t have to change much of your offense for,” Shanahan said.