David Patten may attract interest from 49ers

When the 49ers' injury-driven 2020 season mercifully ended, the team took unwanted claim to the basement of the NFC West at 6-10 and began fielding a litany of questions about its roster future. A few of those questions have been resolved, but many more are still left open, and have become the topic of debate among both football analysts and the team's fan base. The greatest questions, of course, have revolved around whether the 49ers can ride out another year with oft-injured quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who spent much of last season either hobbled on the field or watching from the press box. The fervor over whether Garoppolo can raise his play to a level needed to win a Super Bowl has continued to escalate, making his future with the team, at least to observers, seem shaky

Carson Wentz was traded on February 18th, 2021, from the Philadelphia Eagles to the Indianapolis Colts, for a 2021 3rd-round pick and a 2022 2nd-round pick that can turn into a 1st-round pick if Wentz reaches 75% of the Colts' offensive snaps in 2021 or 70% of the offensive snaps and the Colts make the playoffs. With Wentz headed out of Philadelphia, there is not a single quarterback drafted in the first round from the 2012 through 2016 NFL drafts who is still with the team that drafted him (with some not even in the NFL anymore). That is an astounding stretch of incredibly poor quarterback drafting. It also highlights a very important fact about drafting a quarterback in the first round: there are significantly more busts than hits. The 49ers

If one scoured across the internet and 49ers' social media you would see that quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, is the most polarizing and debated topic discussed. Garoppolo has been the starting quarterback since the end of the 2017 season, but missed most of the 2020 season with an injured ankle and was only able to complete two games in 2018 due to a torn ACL. There are other reasons why people want a change at quarterback, but his health seems to be his biggest concern, which is valid. However, Jimmy Garoppolo and his injuries are a microcosm of the 49ers' major issue: their overall team health. Garoppolo would be the poster child for this concern as he plays the most important position on the field, but his injuries, along with those to other significant

Winston Churchill once said, "There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction." This is so in football, as much as in everyday life. With a slew of free agents, a tight salary cap, and roster questions at many key positions, the 49ers are indeed about to change. Nowhere is that more true than at the quarterback position. Rumors suggesting the release of 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, a blockbuster trade for Houston's star quarterback Deshaun Watson, and a host of potential free agent signings have swirled since the close of the team's 2020 season in January. Nothing yet has happened, and in fact it may not any time soon. But ready or not, the NFL draft is approaching, and 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch will