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Nick Wagoner, ESPN Staff WriterJan 1, 2025, 04:16 PM ET
- Nick Wagoner is an NFL reporter at ESPN. Nick has covered the San Francisco 49ers and the NFL at ESPN since 2016, having previously covered the St. Louis Rams for 12 years, including three years (2013 to 2015) at ESPN. In his 10 years with the company, Nick has led ESPN’s coverage of the Niners’ 2019 Super Bowl run, Colin Kaepernick’s protest, the Rams making Michael Sam the first openly gay player drafted to the NFL, Sam’s subsequent pursuit of a roster spot and the team’s relocation and stadium saga. You can follow Nick via Twitter @nwagoner
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — For much of the season, San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan has looked at backup quarterbacks Brandon Allen and Joshua Dobbs as dual No. 2s behind Brock Purdy.
It’s been beneficial for the scout team with two quarterbacks of different skill sets, but it’s also made it more difficult to choose who to step in when Purdy isn’t available.
That’s not necessarily the case this week as Shanahan announced Wednesday that Dobbs will start for the Niners in the season finale against the Arizona Cardinals.
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“They’ve been two good guys to have there,” Shanahan said. “Kind of looked at both of them as our two throughout the year but they’ve both given really good looks on scout team. They split all the reps there. They’re always ready. They both prepare like they’re going to be the starter every week. They’ve been great.”
The deciding factor for Dobbs this week has as much to do with his legs and scrambling ability as his passing prowess, according to Shanahan. The banged-up Niners rotated a pair of tackles recently signed from other teams’ practice squads (Charlie Heck and Austen Pleasants) on the left side Monday night against the Detroit Lions. That was after their top three tackles — Trent Williams (ankle), Jaylon Moore (quad) and Spencer Burford (calf) — were lost to injury.
At left guard, the Niners are using Nick Zakelj in place of injured starter Aaron Banks (knee) with normal backups Burford and Jon Feliciano (knee) also unavailable. Right tackle Colton McKivitz hasn’t been practicing because of a knee issue, though he did play through it against the Lions.
All of which makes having a quarterback capable of running away from defenders even more important. Since entering the league in 2020, Dobbs has scrambled for 421 yards on 77 carries (5.5 yards per attempt) with six touchdowns.
The start will be Dobbs’ first as a 49er and the 15th of his career. He previously started two games for the Tennessee Titans, eight for Arizona and four for the Minnesota Vikings.
Dobbs took his only snaps of the season for the Niners in relief of Purdy on Monday night after Purdy departed with a right elbow injury. Imaging on Tuesday showed that Purdy was dealing with a bruised right elbow with nerve inflammation, an injury that isn’t expected to be long term but will keep him out this week.
Against the Lions, Dobbs was 3-of-4 for 35 yards and scored a 7-yard touchdown on the ground. While he doesn’t have much familiarity with his Niners teammates, he will have wideout Jauan Jennings. Jennings and Dobbs were teammates at the University of Tennessee, worked out together in Dallas in the offseason and will have a chance to play together again in Arizona.
“It sounds great,” Jennings said. “I’m happy for Dobbs. … I’m just excited for him to get a start.”