National Football League

NFL Free Agency: The 49ers Should Sign Veteran Quarterback Shaun Hill

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 1:47 p.m. ET

Fansided, Peter Panacy/FanSided via Niner Noise

The San Francisco 49ers are probably going to find a franchise-type quarterback in the upcoming 2017 NFL Draft. But they could use a mentor to tutor a young prospect, and veteran free-agent QB Shaun Hill fits the bill.

In all likelihood, the San Francisco 49ers are going to target a prospective quarterback via the 2017 NFL Draft.

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True, the next signal-caller in Santa Clara might enjoy the kind of first-year success like Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott. But those finds, and situations, are rare at best. In reality, the next rookie will need some grooming and mentoring.

Enter free-agent veteran quarterback Shaun Hill.

At 37 years old, Hill is nothing more than a stopgap option for the Niners. But San Francisco fans will remember his three-year tenure with the red and gold, stretching from 2007 through 2009. And he’s managed to be a serviceable backup with various teams in every year since.

So, without having an elite-level skill set, it’s safe to say Hill knows a thing or two on what it takes to stick around in the NFL.

For the record, the average career of an NFL player is 3.3 years, according to Statista.com.

Shaun Hill’s Skill Set

Again, Hill isn’t a long-term answer. But the 11-year veteran does have 35 career starts under his belt. And it’s not out of the question he could end up being a starter for the Niners in 2017.

Take a look at his numbers, courtesy of Pro Football Reference:

Passing Table
Year	Age	Tm	G	GS	Cmp	Att	Cmp%	Yds	TD	Int	Lng	Y/A	Y/G	Rate	QBR	Sk
2005	25	MIN	1	0	0	0		0	0	0	0		0.0			0
2007	27	SFO	3	2	54	79	68.4	501	5	1	26	6.3	167.0	101.3	52.04	6
2008	28	SFO	9	8	181	288	62.8	2046	13	8	48	7.1	227.3	87.5	55.14	23
2009	29	SFO	6	6	87	155	56.1	943	5	2	61	6.1	157.2	79.6	35.47	18
2010	30	DET	11	10	257	416	61.8	2686	16	12	75	6.5	244.2	81.3	45.15	17
2011	31	DET	2	0	2	3	66.7	33	0	0	28	11.0	16.5	103.5	71.06	0
2012	32	DET	1	0	10	13	76.9	172	2	0	46	13.2	172.0	157.9	52.9	0
2013	33	DET	1	0	0	0		0	0	0	0		0.0			0
2014	34	STL	9	8	145	229	63.3	1657	8	7	63	7.2	184.1	83.9	41.37	18
2015	35	MIN	3	0	2	7	28.6	15	0	0	9	2.1	5.0	39.6	1.42	1
2016	36	MIN	3	1	19	35	54.3	242	0	0	33	6.9	80.7	76.1	63.7	1
Career		49	35	757	1225	61.8	8295	49	30	75	6.8	169.3	84.9		84
4 yrs	DET	15	10	269	432	62.3	2891	18	12	75	6.7	192.7	84.2		17
3 yrs	MIN	7	1	21	42	50.0	257	0	0	33	6.1	36.7	69.2		2
3 yrs	SFO	18	16	322	522	61.7	3490	23	11	61	6.7	193.9	87.3		47
1 yr	STL	9	8	145	229	63.3	1657	8	7	63	7.2	184.1	83.9		18

The career-84.9 passer rating certainly isn’t bad. And considering last year’s starter, Colin Kaepernick, posted a 90.7 passer rating in 2016, it’s not as if this is a major setback.

Plus, Hill is the definitive pocket passer. If San Francisco’s next general manager and head coach tandem wants a QB to be more of the traditional kind, Hill’s skill set is a better example from which to draw.

Why the 49ers Target Shaun Hill

First of all, the list of free-agent quarterbacks on the market this offseason is thin. So for those thinking the Niners will make a move in free agency to upgrade the QB position better not get too excited.

While there are some promising quarterbacks coming out in the 2017 NFL Draft, it isn’t as if there’s a bona fide must-have QB prospect right at the top of the overall class.

At least not according to Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller:

I would consider Watson a reach at 10 as of today. Kizer, a small reach but not an overwhelming one. https://t.co/NZ54VH4IKu

— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) January 13, 2017

With the No. 2 overall pick, the Niners would be reaching if they selected a quarterback in Round 1, barring a trade down of course.

And it’s hard to say any of the soon-to-be rookie quarterbacks are truly NFL ready. So that means mentoring.