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The San Francisco 49ers kick off the 2015 NFL regular season on Monday Night Football, on September 14. That game. means San Francisco is now a mere 5 days away from kicking off its 2015 regular season. In the spirit of that approaching date, I thought I would steal this idea from our Oakland Raiders site.
Who wore it best: QB Jeff Garcia (1999-2003)
The No. 5 does not have an extensive history with the 49ers. Kicker Jeff Brockhau was the first player since 1950 to wear the number, sporting it for one year in 1987. It was then not worn again until Jeff Garcia, who wore it from 1999 to 2003. I saw that date range, and it did not feel like nearly long enough. For some reason, the Garcia era felt longer than that.
It was very much an up and down period, so I suppose that might play into it. The 49ers were 2-8 in his ten starts in 1999, and then 6-10 in 2000. However, in 2001 they went 12-4 and in 2002 then went 10-6. Garcia earned three Pro Bowl nods during that time. He finished his five seasons with the 49ers with 16,408 passing yards, 113 touchdowns and 56 interceptions. He rushed for 1,571 yards in those five season.
Garcia has been running football camps in retirement, with hopes of getting into coaching. He worked briefly for the Montreal Alouettes, and is now an offensive assistant with the St. Louis Rams.
Who wears it now: P Bradley Pinion (2015-present)
David Carr, Chris Hogan and B.J. Daniels all briefly sported No. 5 in recent years. Now, rookie punter Bradley Pinion looks to put his mark on the number. The 49ers used a fifth round pick, and then dealt away Andy Lee to the Cleveland Browns.
It was a rather stunning development, but given the turnover we have seen this offseason, it is not exactly shocking in hindsight. Lee is still a solid punter, but his numbers were a bit down in 2014. His cap figure was at a point that you just do not want to be paying an older special teams player. And so, the 49ers pushed things along and are now going with a rookie punter and holder. It is just one more fascinating aspect to the 2015 season.