Bad News For San Francisco 49ers, Thad Lewis Out For Season

In addition to trying to find a starting quarterback, the San Francisco 49ers are now in need of depth at the position as well. According to Niner Noise, Thad Lewis is out for the season after tearing his ACL. The injury took place during their preseason opener against the Houston Texans.

The starting quarterback position for the San Francisco 49ers has been one of the most discussed topics in the NFL during the summer. Many want to see if Colin Kaepernick can regain his spot after losing it to Blaine Gabbert. Some were hoping Kaepernick could revive his career with the arrival of Chip Kelly as the new head coach.

Now that the first preseason game is out of the way, there are still just as many question marks. Colin Kaepernick has an injured arm, so the San Francisco 49ers have been very careful with him. Blaine Gabbert struggled against the Houston Texans, so he has not created himself a lead in the race.

49ers in the market for a QB? Thad Lewis out for the season with a torn ACL, Kaepernick banged up https://t.co/giBnzEu4zj

— Bet Chicago Sports (@BetChiSports) August 15, 2016

With Blaine Gabbert and Colin Kaepernick receiving all of the headlines, the belief was that Thad Lewis was going to secure the third spot on the quarterback depth chart. Lewis would move up to the second spot if the San Francisco 49ers decided to trade Gabbert or Kaepernick after a starter was found.

The reason why the San Francisco 49ers were hoping that Thad Lewis would win the third quarterback position is because he already has a decent understanding of the offensive system that Chip Kelly is trying to implement. Lewis learned it while he was with the Philadelphia Eagles.

In the sixth round of the NFL Draft his year, the San Francisco 49ers selected Jeff Driskel, as reported by ESPN. He was the fastest quarterback coming out of the college ranks. With the injury to Thad Lewis, Driskel now has a chance to secure that third quarterback position for the Niners.

With the quarterback situation being so unsettled, the San Francisco 49ers are more than likely going to be relying a bit more on their running game, which should be led by a recovering Carlos Hyde.

Carlos Hyde had his season cut short during week seven when he suffered a stress fracture in his foot. Prior to that, though, the San Francisco 49ers felt some hope because Hyde showed potential to be a game-changing running back in the NFL. Management is hoping he can regain that momentum this season.

To help the running game, the San Francisco 49ers made some changes to their offensive line over the summer. The biggest free agent signing for the Niners was the addition of Zane Beadles, the former Jacksonville Jaguars offensive lineman. He will more than likely take over as starting left guard.

After a one-year hiatus, Anthony Davis decided to come out of retirement. He more than likely will regain the starting right tackle position at some point. Before he walked away from the NFL, Davis was considered one of the best at his position.

In a sign of how important the offensive line is to the San Francisco 49ers, management spent their first round draft pick on Stanford Cardinals star offensive lineman Joshua Garnett. The 6-foot-5 guard is expected to gain a starting spot in the near future, and he should be able to clear a lot of running room for Carlos Hyde.

To the NFL, Thad Lewis was not expected to make a huge impact on the upcoming regular season. However, to the San Francisco 49ers, he was supposed to provide stability as the backup quarterback that had an understanding of the offensive system that Chip Kelly is installing.

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