When the 49ers signed Brian Hoyer on Wednesday to a two-year contract worth $10 million in guarantee — plus many other incentives — the team “strongly indicated” that he’d be the starting quarterback for 2017, according to CBS Sports.
Part A: The 49ers are going to draft a rookie quarterback who simply won’t be ready for the mental demands of Kyle Shanahan’s offense come Week 1. Hoyer already knows the system and before Johnny Manziel interrupted his starting tenure, the 31-year-old was creating sweet magic with Shanahan calling the plays in Cleveland.
Part B: Was this the 49ers indicating that a trade for Kirk Cousins was essentially of the table?
My report from Wednesday that owner Dan Snyder remains an obstacle in the trade talks was corroborated by ESPN’s Chris Mortensen on Thursday.
One obstacle in the Kirk Cousins trade: Dan Snyder. I'm told bad blood remains between he & Kyle. Dan doesn't want a Shanahan landing Kirk
— Kevin Jones (@Mr_KevinJones) March 8, 2017
Kirk Cousins appealed personally to owner Dan Snyder for a trade but was basically told not to get his hopes up, per sources.
— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) March 9, 2017
The Redskins have become such a dysfunctional mess overnight that even if they offer Cousins to be the highest paid quarterback in the NFL, the chances are he’d turn them down at this point.
Snyder and his front office really only have two choices at this point: Rent Cousins for a year or try and get some type of trade compensation for him now. Cousins has too many options in front of him and a strong relationship with Shanahan. Why would he want to be the face of a franchise that’s constantly in turmoil?
And if the latter is the case, why would the 49ers bail out the Redskins? Shouldn’t Shanahan and GM John Lynch just wait until next offseason to negotiate with Cousins? From everything I gathered at the NFL combine, there is a sense of loyalty toward Cousins on Shanahan’s end, and if a very fair trade package were to be agreed on, the head coach would like to rescue his future quarterback. The phone lines on the 49ers’ end are always open.
Whatever happens with Cousins, having Brian Hoyer and a rookie quarterback as your Plan B for Year 1 is shaping up rather nicely. Paired with Carlos Hyde, Kyle Juszczyk, Pierre Garcon, Jeremy Kerley, Marquise Goodwin and decent offensive line, there’s a chance Hoyer the 49ers finish middle of the pack in most offensive statistics.
What a tremendous upgrade that would be over last season’s mess on offense under Chip Kelly.