The 49ers would support the return of the third quarterback base

When you have two quarterbacks, you don’t have either. When you have two active quarterbacks on game day and they both get injured, you really don’t have either.

The 49ers learned the hard way on Sunday in the NFC Championship Game. Brooke Purdy He suffered an elbow injury. Then after the quarterback Josh Johnson The 49ers suffered a concussion, and had to rely on Purdy to catch punts, even though he could throw the ball no more than five yards.

During the season-closing press conference in Santa Clara, the issue of the now-expired third quarterback rule was brought up. Coach Kyle Shanahan and GM John Lynch were asked if they would support such a move.

“Yeah, I would definitely endorse it,” Shanahan said. “We were scared to death when that rule ended, whatever it was many years ago, but you kind of forget about it because you don’t see anyone has to go through it, but then you’re reminded of how quickly a football game ended once that happened, so I think it’s It would be very smart to own it.”

But the rule ended in 2011 because, instead of allowing player number 46 to be an emergency quarterback, the league allowed all teams to have 46 players in uniform. Teams can choose, if they want, that the number 46 man in the uniform be the quarterback. Many chose not to make the quarterback the 46th man on game day.

So, basically, the return of the base would result in the 47th man — the third quarterback — in uniform.

“I think it will be good for football,” said GM John Lynch. “You always try to develop those players, but you always weigh that carrying three players rather than the roster value of being able to host a whole bunch of position players in different locations, so I think if the league just kind of gave you there, everyone would have to do that. You’ve got more people in the camps getting better, and I think it’s going to be good for football.”

It would certainly be good for football not to have a conference championship game that had both of the quarterbacks on one team injured, and the team would have to use either an injured quarterback who couldn’t throw or who wouldn’t play quarterback. And yes, that’s more than enough reason to allow teams to have a third player ready to go, just in case.