David Carr - Starter by default?

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Trent Baalke recently said the 49ers next starting quarterback is not on their roster. With Nate Davis signing in Seattle, Alex Smith due to become an unrestricted free agent and Troy Smith due to become a restricted free agent, the 49ers have only one signed quarterback in the fold - David Carr.

This is the wrong year to have a questions at quarterback. With a labor stoppage looming, teams with entrenched starters will be miles ahead when and if a new agreement is reached. Say, for example, a new CBA is in place a week or two before next season. That means teams, and particularly quarterbacks, will only have that amount of time to get ready for the new season. So whoever is on the roster is likely going to be the one who starts the season. In other words, the 49ers might very well be stuck with Carr as their starter depending on the timing of the new CBA.

The team will take a quarterback at some point during the draft. But that player will be unable to practice until labor issues are resolved. The 49ers have already seen what happens when they subject a young quarterback to the rigors of starting before he's ready. Had they waited with Smith, the direction of his career might have been different.

Also, if there's little time to get ready for the season, bringing in a free agent quarterback doesn't make much sense. Compounding the problem is the lack of talent on the potential free-agent market. Philadelphia is likely to sign Michael Vick at their first opportunity. That leaves Matt Hasselbeck, Marc Bulger, Seneca Wallace, Brady Quinn, Matt Moore and Trent Edwards as possibilities. With the exception of Hasselbeck, Carr is equal to or better than the rest of that group.

Remember when the 49ers signed Carr, the Browns and Cardinals were both eager to get him. In Cleveland, that means Mike Holmgren wanted him.

Nevertheless, the 49ers would likely be in far better shape had they retained Shaun Hill, instead of trading him to Detroit and signing Carr. That move was one of Scot McCloughan's last as the 49ers general manager and maybe his worst.

Unlike Carr, Hill proved he could function with the bad offense and still be productive and in fact, still win. In Detroit, Hill started 10 games, compiled a 81.3 passer rating and threw 16 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He was also considered a natural leader. He would have been the perfect bridge quarterback for the 49ers.

For his career, Carr's passer rating is 74.9 while playing in bad offenses. He has thrown more interceptions (71) than touchdowns (65). If he does start, he'll be in another less than ideal offense despite the miracle-worker reputation Jim Harbaugh built at Stanford. However, the CBA situation might leave the 49ers no choice but to start him.

A WORD ON DAVIS: The Nate Davis experiment officially ended with the Seahawks signing him this week. Davis had the big arm, and the knack for making the exciting play. But in the end, Davis did not put in the time required to overcome his learning disability. The 49ers were excited by his talent also, but Davis simply didn't hold up his end.

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | January 12 2011 at 05:12 PM