Josh Rosen may have some catching up to do if he wants to stay in the race to be the 49ers' No. 3 quarterback this season, based on what head coach Kyle Shanahan said on Sunday.
Shanahan was asked about Rosen's training camp performance to this point after practice on Sunday, and his response wasn't exactly flattering. Shanahan said Rosen, who is competing with Nate Sudfeld to be the third quarterback on the 49ers' roster this season (assuming they decide to keep three quarterbacks rather than just moving forward with Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance), has moved in the wrong direction recently after a good start.
"I think he started off real well," Shanahan said. "I think he's taken a couple steps back the last few practices."
One of those missteps came Sunday when Rosen (according to a tweet from Matt Barrows of The Athletic) made an overthrow on a busted play that was picked off by safety Tony Jefferson. Shanahan briefly addressed the interception during his answer about Rosen's camp performance.
"It was unfortunate on that," Shanahan said. "We were supposed to go to someone and we had a busted route. That kind of fell apart, and he tried to overcompensate and made a bad situation worse."
Rosen has been with the 49ers since being signed off the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' practice squad late last season. He served solely as an emergency option for what was a depleted 49ers quarterback room over the final two games in 2020, then was re-signed to a one-year deal in February. Rosen has always been an intriguing possibility as a backup quarterback for the 49ers given the fact he is just three years removed from being a first-round draft pick, but it sounds like he'll have some ground to make up as the preseason schedule commences.
"I'd firmly peg Nate Sudfeld into the QB3 spot right now," 49ers beat reporter David Lombardi of The Athletic tweeted after practice.
Rosen has 2,845 yards passing with 12 touchdowns and 19 interceptions in 20 NFL games since being selected by the Arizona Cardinals with the No. 10 pick of the 2018 NFL Draft. The Cardinals shipped Rosen to the Miami Dolphins after deciding to use the first overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft on quarterback Kyler Murray, then Rosen caught on with the Buccaneers in September of 2020 after being waived by the Dolphins.