Carr finally signs with 49ers; Hill traded to Lions

<p>SANTA CLARA — On the list of unproductive No. 1 overall NFL draft picks, quarterback David Carr holds a prominent position.</p><p>Carr, now a veteran of eight NFL seasons, signed a two-year contract Monday with the 49ers — more than a week after agreeing to the $6.25 million deal — in hopes of eventually removing his name from the discussion.</p><p>“For me, that was the biggest thing,” said Carr, 30, a native of Bakersfield.</p><p>Carr said he could have lived a comfortable life as Eli Manning’s backup with the New York Giants for another seven or eight seasons. But, he said, “I was in such a good place with my experience and my playing ability that it was time to go out and push myself a little bit.”</p><p>The No. 1 overall pick in the 2002 draft has not been a regular starter since the Houston Texans released him after his fifth season in the league. While with the Giants, Carr was only an insurance policy.</p><p>There is no ceiling on his role with the 49ers. He said 49ers coach Mike Singletary left the door open for Carr to earn a starting job this season over incumbent Alex Smith.</p><p>“Honestly, that was one of the first things that I asked him when I came out here,” Carr said of his initial meeting with Singletary on March 5.</p><p>“I got the right answer from him. ‘You go out there and compete and, yeah, we are going to pay attention to what you do.’ That was good. That’s all I needed to hear. Now it’s just all hard work.”</p><p>Singletary said last month that Smith will be the 49ers’ starting quarterback in 2010. There will be no public competition. But Carr believes if he performs well, he’ll get his chance at a starting role.</p><p>“They have said that competition is what they love around here,” Carr said. “It makes you feel better. One of Singletary’s things is, ‘Iron sharpens iron.’ The thing that I wanted to hear, from all those guys, was I’ll have a chance to be on the field if I play the way I know I can play. And they said, ‘Yes.’ Once I get on the field, I feel confident that we are going to play well.”</p><p>After the 49ers received the signed contract from Carr, the club announced backup quarterback Shaun Hill had been traded to the Detroit Lions for an undisclosed 2011 draft pick. A league source said the pick would be a seventh-rounder.</p><p>The 49ers were 10-6 when Hill started the past three seasons. In games Hill did not start during that time, the 49ers were 10-22.</p><p>“I feel like every time I was on the field, everybody around me really stepped up and played well,” said Hill, who will report to the Lions today for a team physical. “And we were able to put together a pretty decent record. I had a lot of fun doing it. It’s just unfortunate that it wasn’t enough. Like I said, I’m excited to get a fresh start.”</p><p>For more on the 49ers, go to Instant 49ers at blog.pressdemocrat.com/49ers. You can reach Staff Writer Matt Maiocco at matt.maiocco@pressdemocrat.com</p>