Mayfield claimed by Rams: 49ers move ahead with Purdy
SANTA CLARA – Nick Bosa won’t be getting Baker Mayfield as a 49ers teammate, so he won’t get a chance to drill him as a scout-team quarterback.
Mayfield, a rival of Bosa’s since their college days, instead was claimed off waivers Tuesday by the Los Angeles Rams, rivals of the 49ers who they won’t face again this season after sweeping the season series.
The 49ers lost Jimmy Garoppolo on Sunday to a season-ending foot fracture, so they forge ahead with rookie Brock Purdy as their replacement starter. Backing him up will be journeyman Josh Johnson, whose signing was announced Tuesday.
Coach Kyle Shanahan, on a media conference call Monday, said he’d be surprised if the 49ers became the next stop for Mayfield, the 2018 draft’s No. 1 pick by the Cleveland Browns and a 1-5 starter this season with the Carolina Panthers, who released him Monday as their No. 3 quarterback.
Mayfield has lost his two career starts against the 49ers: a 2019 game in which Bosa had two sacks and mocked Mayfield’s celebration from their Oklahoma-Ohio State days, and Mayfield’s penultimate start for the Panthers in October.
“I’ve always been a fan of his,” Shanahan said. “but I feel real good about our players and we’ll look into everything, but I feel pretty good with where we’re at right now.”
Purdy replaced Garoppolo after Sunday’s first possession and helped guide the first-place 49ers (8-4) to their fifth straight win, a 33-17 victory over the Miami Dolphins. The 49ers wrap up a three-game homestand this Sunday by hosting Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-6).
Johnson, a 36-year-old Oakland native, first joined the 49ers in 2012 but was cut before the season. He returned off and on throughout the 2014 season under his former University of San Diego coach, Jim Harbaugh. Johnson rejoined the 49ers from November 2020 to June 2021, and he made a positive impression on Shanahan.
“We got to see a lot of him just as a player, which we like the player, but more importantly, we really like the guy,” Shanahan said of Johnson. “I think that’s why he has been around for so long and so many places continue to bring him back, because he is a natural leader.
“Guys like playing with him, guys like playing around him, he has a skill set that can go in and give you a chance to win and a person we really believe in and we feel fortunate to get him back here.”
Trey Lance, the 49ers’ season-opening starter, will not return this season while he recovers from his Week 2 ankle fracture.
Lance remains involved in team meetings, and Garoppolo attended Monday’s meetings in good spirits, Shanahan said. Three weeks ago, Jacob Eason replaced Kurt Benkert on the practice squad, and Shanahan said he’s impressed by Eason’s arm strength.
“I haven’t gotten to see him play a lot of football in the league, but our guys liked the tape that he had had and I remember the type of thrower he was,” Shanahan said, “so it was good to bring him in here and get a look here these last few weeks.”