San Francisco 49ers linked with Andy Dalton amid latest Tom Brady rumor

The San Francisco 49ers likely need to acquire a veteran quarterback early this offseason. The Athletic's Matt Barrows and David Lombardi have someone in mind. 

For a piece published Thursday, Barrows and Lombardi linked with 49ers with former Cincinnati Bengals starter Andy Dalton. 

"Dalton has started 166 games in his career," Barrows explained while adding that the 35-year-old "won’t stress the 49ers' salary cap" and "would take a backseat to San Francisco's youngsters." According to the article, San Francisco "looked at Dalton during the 2021 free-agency period." 

There's a lot to unpack there. 

This update indicates the relationship between the 49ers and Jimmy Garoppolo has, indeed, gone "south," perhaps due to Garoppolo's unwillingness to "take a backseat to" unproven 2021 first-round draft pick Trey Lance. To compare, Dalton has handled backup duties with the Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears, and New Orleans Saints since the 2020 season. 

As for 2022 rookie sensation Brock Purdy, he was supposed to undergo surgery this week to repair the torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow he suffered in the NFC Championship Game. That procedure was postponed "because of ongoing inflammation" in the elbow, and Purdy won't be re-evaluated before March 1 at the earliest. A six-month recovery would likely sideline Purdy through at least the early stages of the 2023 season. 

Lance, meanwhile, has only attempted 102 regular season passes at the highest level and required multiple surgeries to repair the serious ankle injury he suffered this past September. The 22-year-old is hardly a sure thing for a team that is coming off back-to-back NFC Championship Game appearances. 

Barrows and Lombardi also named Jacoby Brissett, Teddy Bridgewater and Taylor Heinicke as potential options for the 49ers. For what it's worth, Brissett largely impressed during his 11 starts with the Cleveland Browns in 2022 and could look to become a temporary QB1 for a team searching for a bridge signal-caller this offseason. 

Perhaps most interesting about this update is that it was shared the same day that Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio revived a rumor about the 49ers possibly pursuing Tom Brady. Brady, obviously, wouldn't "take a backseat" to any quarterback, but The Athletic's piece suggests head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch are prepared to enter springtime workouts with Lance atop the depth chart.