Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Schaub and Chicago Bears quarterback Brian Hoyer are scheduled to become free agents in March. The San Francisco 49ers need quarterbacks. It is very likely that they will have none signed to the roster at the start of the new league year on March 9. Colin Kaepernick is expected to void the remainder of his contract to test free agency and no other 49ers quarterback was signed beyond the 2016 season.
Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee joined Brian Peacock, an analyst for Pro Football Focus, on his podcast on Thursday and discussed the 49ers' short-term quarterback possibilities. "[Schaub and Hoyer] are two guys that both have an experience with Kyle Shanahan and vice-versa and both are free agents and the 49ers are basically going to need to sign four quarterbacks," Barrows said. "It could be one or even both of those guys added. Neither of them are going to cost very much so it would be a smart, prudent move to bring those guys in.
"Schaub has been discussed. He's worked with Shanahan at two different spots. In Houston back in – I think it was '08-'09 – and Schaub had the best year of his career there. And then he's been the backup to Matt Ryan in Atlanta the last couple of years. There's real familiarity there.
"Then Hoyer did fairly well in a very talent-starved Cleveland Browns offense back in 2014 when Shanahan was running the Browns offense. Those are two names to definitely keep an eye on when free agency begins."
You can listen to the entire interview via audioBoom.
Schaub, a 13-year veteran, is scheduled to become a free agent next month after signing a one-year deal with Atlanta in March of 2016. It was Schaub's second stint with the Falcons, the team that drafted him out of Virginia in the third round of the 2004 NFL Draft.
Schaub's best season as a quarterback came in 2009 with the Houston Texans, when Shanahan was his offensive coordinator there. Schaub passed for 4,770 yards, completing 67.9 percent of his passes while throwing 29 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. It was one of three 4,000-plus yard seasons (2009, 2010, 2012) that Schaub had with Houston. Over his entire career, Schaub has passed for 24,867 yards, thrown 133 touchdowns and 90 interceptions.
Hoyer, an 8-year veteran, started 14 games while Shanahan was the offensive coordinator for a season (2014) in Cleveland. That year, Hoyer passed for a career-high 3,326 yards, completing 55.3 percent of his passes and throwing 12 touchdowns compared to 13 interceptions. Over the past three seasons, Hoyer has passed for 7,377 yards, 37 touchdowns, and 20 interceptions through 31 games.
