49ers add another quarterback in ex-Texan Tom Savage

The 49ers purchased quarterback insurance Tuesday afternoon.

They signed Tom Savage to a one-year deal. For now, he's the emergency third-string quarterback behind starter C.J. Beathard and backup Nick Mullens. But Savage could rise up the depth chart if one of those two gets injured or underperforms. Savage has more experience than both of them. He has started nine games in the NFL. Beathard has started eight. Mullens has started zero.

Savage, 28, was a fourth-round pick in 2014, when 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan was the offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns. That year they needed a quarterback, and Shanahan urged the front office to draft either Tom Savage or Jimmy Garoppolo, according to a report from ESPN. The Browns ignored Shanahan's advice and drafted Johnny Manziel, who's out of the NFL. The Houston Texans drafted Savage.

“He has a strong arm,” Shanahan said Tuesday on a conference call. “He's a very tough player. He hangs in that pocket and plays the position well. I was a fan of his coming out of college. He has gotten to play in a number of NFL games, so he's battle tested. He was in a tough situation in Houston that didn't work out for him.”

In four seasons with the Texans, Savage appeared in 13 games, completed 57.5 percent of his throws, passed for 2,000 yards, threw five touchdown passes and seven interceptions and posted a quarterback rating of 72.5. Subpar numbers.

He entered last season as the Texans starting quarterback. But they benched him Week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars and replaced him with rookie first-round pick Deshaun Watson, who played well and kept the job.

On Nov. 2, Watson tore his ACL during practice and missed the rest of the season. Savage started the Texans' next six games and won one. His final start came Week 14 against the 49ers.

Early in the second quarter, 49ers defensive end Elvis Dumervil hit Savage and drove his head into the turf. Savage stayed on the ground and twitched for a second. He looked like he was having a seizure. He suffered a concussion and finished the season on injured reserve.

The Texans did not re-sign Savage this offseason and let his contract expire. So, he signed a one-year deal with the New Orleans Saints on March 16.

Savage played well for the Saints during the preseason. He completed 74.2 percent of his passes, and his quarterback rating was 93.8. Strong numbers. But he didn't make the Saints' final roster. They traded for backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and released Savage on Sept. 1.

“I got to study (Savage) this preseason when he was in New Orleans,” Shanahan said. “He had some high praises from (Saints head coach) Sean Payton. I was excited that (Savage) was available.”

The 49ers initially didn't try to sign him. They kept only two quarterbacks on their roster: Beathard and Garoppolo. But Garoppolo tore his ACL on Sept. 23. Two days later, the 49ers brought in Savage for a workout, along with veteran free-agent quarterbacks T.J. Yates and Kellen Clemons.

But that workout did not influence the 49ers' decision to sign Savage, according to Shanahan.

“Not at all,” he said. “Those workouts are just guys throwing on air. You (want) to make sure they're the same guys you've seen on tape. (Signing Savage) has to do with things I have heard about him, the stuff I've studied on him from college and the type of skills he has.”

Shanahan just likes him, and has for years.

Savage most likely will not suit up for game days. And he will not compete for the starting job. At least not yet.

Beathard had a good statistical game Monday night against the Packers. His quarterback rating was 115.3. But he threw an interception late in the fourth quarter that led to the 49ers' loss. Through three games this season, Beathard has committed nine turnovers and his record is 0-3.

“C.J. was one of the reasons we had a chance to win that game (against the Packers),” Shanahan said. “He made some big plays throughout the game, kept the chains moving a number of times. There were a couple of plays at the end that I know he'd like to have back where he had a couple of opportunities he missed. By no means was he perfect, but I was happy with how he played. I was proud of how he played. There are definitely things he can learn from and I think he will.”

And if Beathard doesn't learn, the 49ers have Savage.

Notes

To make room on the roster for Savage, the 49ers released tight end Cole Wick. He appeared in five games this season, caught zero passes and dropped one in the end zone.

Cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon suffered a concussion Monday against the Packers. He is in the league's concussion protocol.