The San Francisco 49ers start their offseason workout program in two weeks, and Brian Hoyer will enter the program as the starting quarterback. This is not exactly a breaking piece of news, but Kyle Shanahan acknowledged as much on Wednesday. During an interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio, he said that he sees Hoyer being the starting quarterback going into this, but they will look to improve in the 2017 NFL Draft.
.@49ers Head Coach Kyle Shanahan "I see Brian Hoyer being our starting QB going into this, but we will see if we can improve in the draft" pic.twitter.com/u6jAPsxxYR
— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) March 30, 2017
The 49ers entered free agency with no quarterbacks on the roster following Colin Kaepenrick’s decision to opt out of the final year of his contract. The team signed Brian Hoyer early in free agency, and quickly followed by signing Matt Barkley.
General manager John Lynch said the team is not done with free agency, so it is possible they add another veteran quarterback. However, whether they sign a veteran or not, they are almost certain to draft a quarterback next month. My guess is they draft one and sign a UDFA, but maybe we see more than that.
There have been questions about this year’s draft class, and even if the 49ers walk away with one or more QBs from it, odds are pretty good Hoyer would still be the starting quarterback when September arrives. He is most definitely atop the depth chart for now, and I am hard-pressed to see him not being up there when Week 1 of the regular season arrives.