With Colin Kaepernick expected to opt out of his contract for next season, the San Francisco 49ers are likely to be without a quarterback on their roster come March.
Filling the QB position will be priority number one for new head coach Kyle Shanahan, and there are a number of routes that he and GM John Lynch will likely explore this offseason to further that end. Shanahan was asked if he is planning on acquiring a quarterback through the draft, free agency or via trade during his introductory press conference Thursday afternoon. Shanahan was non-specific in his answer, saying that the 49ers will have to explore every option before making that decision.
“You want the best player possible and there’s not one absolute answer to that,” Shanahan said. “Everyone wants the best quarterback in the league, everyone wants the best left tackle in the league, the best receiver. That’s what you’re always trying to find, that’s what you’re always looking for as a personnel staff and that’s what you’re always looking for as a coach.”
“You don’t get those options every year. That’s why you have to look into the draft, every single possibility. You have to look into free agency and every single possibility. You have to look at possible trades and every single possibility. That’s why there is no offseason, ’cause there’s so many possibilities, and there’s no absolute way on how to find that in this league, but there’s different options each year.”
As for the type of quarterback, Shanahan is not married to a particular skillset, arguing every type of QB can thrive in the right situation.
“I really never speak in absolutes,” Shanahan said. “You take the best possible scenario everybody wants. I always joke around about it, but as a receiver I hope to find six Julio Jones’ who can do everything – that’s not gonna happen. You have to find what the best options are.”
“People have won in this league being pure throwers, and can make every throw in the pocket. People have won in this league making plays with their legs. There’s been tall quarterbacks who have made it, there have been short quarterbacks who have made it. there’s lots of ways to do it, but you have to find out what characteristics make someone successful, and when you do feel that they have certain characteristics, when you’re talking about the quarterback position — whether it’s their intelligence, their mobility, just their throwing ability — then you’ve got to think ‘how can I put a scheme together that allows them to use those traits,’ and does he have the players around him to allow him to use those traits, and that’s how you start to package things together.”
“You don’t just get to build your player how you want on Madden. You’ve got to see what’s out there, and everyone has different things, and you rarely get the whole package. If you find the guy who has the full package, then you do whatever it takes to get that guy and don’t think twice about it, but that’s easier said than done. Their’s not many of those people on the planet so there’s lots of ways to be successful. Never can a quarterback do it by himself, so it’s important that you have someone who can handle the pressure, who can do it week in and week out, and also has the ability to do what you’re asking of them.”