San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan might have dropped a bit of a hint Saturday night on the team's battle for the No. 2 quarterback job between Nick Mullens and C.J. Beathard.
During the coach's presser, following the Niners' 27-17 preseason win over the Kansas City Chiefs, Shanahan was asked about the sudden news of Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck retiring -- news of which was first reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter.
"I was just told about Luck before I came in here," Shanahan told reporters after the game. "And that probably shocked and surprised me as much as everyone. He's one of the best guys in our league, and one of the most impressive people I've been around. ... I'm sure he has a very good reason, but that was crazy to just hear that."
The news broke during the 49ers game, prompting many a Niners fan to tweet out the idea San Francisco could trade one of its quarterbacks to the Colts between now and Week 1.
Yet Shanahan, who was prompted with the same question, appeared to refute the idea.
"We have three very good quarterbacks," he continued. "We plan on having three this year. But just like every other person on our roster, if someone thinks there's a way to upgrade our team, we'll always listen."
An answer without a clear answer.
The Colts' other quarterbacks include Phillip Walker, Chad Kelly and Jacoby Brissett. Brissett, whom Indianapolis acquired via a trade with the New England Patriots back in 2017, figures to be the primary option to replace Luck. He started 15 games for the Colts back in 2017, completing 58.8 percent of his passes and completing 13 touchdowns against seven interceptions.
Peter Panacy has been writing about the 49ers since 2011 for outlets like Bleacher Report, Niner Noise, 49ers Webzone, and is occasionally heard as a guest on San Francisco's 95.7 FM The Game and the Niners' flagship station, KNBR 680. Feel free to follow him, or direct any inquiries to his Twitter account.
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