The San Francisco 49ers have gone from one of the most prestigious teams in the NFL to one of the worst. After one of the worst seasons in franchise history, the 49ers fired head coach Chip Kelly and now need to find a new identity under new coach Kyle Shanahan. The 49ers have made their first major move and signed former Houston Texans Starting Quarterback Brian Hoyer to compete for their starting job. It is time to find out if San Francisco can finally rebound and regain the respect of the NFL and their fans.
Brian Hoyer and Kyle Shanahan at San Francisco
The big talk is that new head coach Kyle Shanahan will be able to finally help secure the quarterback position for the San Francisco 49ers. Brian Hoyer will be the first man to get the opportunity after Colin Kaepernick chose to leave the team by exercising his opt-out clause in his contract. Shanahan has been a quarterback guru in the NFL, helping turn Kirk Cousins into a star in Washington and making the Atlanta Falcons and Matt Ryan into a Super Bowl contender last season. However, Houston Texans head coach Bill O'Brien is also supposed to be a quarterback guru and couldn't win with Brian Hoyer in 2015. Hoyer spent 2016 in Chicago, where he played in six games and posted a 98.0 passer rating.
49ers quarterback competition in 2017
Brian Hoyer won't have to worry about competing with 2016 starting quarterback Colin Kaepernick, the man who also helped lead the San Francisco 49ers to the playoffs the last time they were there. Kaepernick had an option in his contract that allowed him to void it and leave, so he did so.
While some thought he might return at a smaller contract, that probably won't happen now. Hoyer comes to the 49ers over other options like Kirk Cousins. The deal for Hoyer is just for two seasons at $6 million a year, so he has a short time to prove he belongs in San Francisco. While most expect the contract to mean he will start for the 49ers, the team said that he will compete for the starting job in 2017. Unless the San Francisco 49ers draft a rookie that blows them away in the 2017 NFL Draft, expect Brian Hoyer to start on their opening day of the season.
