Tony Pauline’s report may rightfully leave 49ers fans asking, why?
The San Francisco 49ers know who the top quarterback on the team’s depth chart heading into next season will be. However, the backup quarterback situation behind Brock Purdy remains an open question. With Brandon Allen and Josh Dobbs heading for free agency, the Niners could go in a myriad of directions. According to a report from The Shrine Bowl by Tony Pauline of Sportskeeda, veteran quarterback (and soon to be free agent) quarterback Joe Flacco is on the Niners radar.
“One veteran quarterback who has been talked about the past few days is Joe Flacco,” Pauline wrote. “I’ve been told by sources close to the ageless quarterback that he intends to play in 2025. After a 10-year career with the Baltimore Ravens that produced a Super Bowl victory, Flacco had success in recent seasons with the New York Jets, Cleveland Browns and Indianapolis Colts coming off the bench… I’m told to keep an eye on the San Francisco 49ers, Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots as suitors for Flacco in the offseason, as all would look for a veteran backup.”
It’s a bit surprising to hear the Niners tied to Flacco as a potential backup. Head coach Kyle Shanahan has never really had a true elder statesman backup quarterback during his tenure. Brian Hoyer was signed to be the team’s starter and backed up by rookie C.J. Beathard and eventually replaced by Jimmy Garoppolo. Garoppolo was backed up by Beathard, Nick Mullens, Trey Lance, and Brock Purdy. Purdy was backed up by Sam Darnold, Brandon Allen, and Josh Dobbs. Allen is the only backup who was at least 30 years old (he was 31) when joining the Niners.
Nevertheless, Flacco obviously has plenty of experience throughout his long NFL career and could be a useful mentor to Purdy as he has manages what the 49ers hope is the early part of his career. Nevertheless, the Patriots and Steelers both have much more unstable quarterback situations. The Patriots have recent top-five pick Drake Maye entrenched in the top spot, but he’s far from a proven long-term starter and will be playing for an entirely different head coach next season. Meanwhile it’s unclear whether the Steelers intend to retain Russell Wilson or Justin Fields for next season. If those three teams are interested in Flacco, and he wants playing time, San Francisco will have a hard sell.
It’s worth noting that Pauline’s reporting had a very pro-Flacco lens. He reported that “The Browns have privately told people they made a mistake letting Flacco go, though they really had little choice with Deshaun Watson returning from injury.” This suggests that his report came from a source close to Flacco, which increases the chances that the teams mentioned may not be as interested as Pauline reports. It’s not uncommon for agents to leak interest to reporters in hopes to generate attention that leads other teams to consider their client.