The San Francisco 49ersannounced a slew of Thursday roster moves.
Quarterback Carter Bradley was among that group of Thursday signees. The 25-year-old is the son of Gus Bradley, who joined the franchise this offseason as the 49ers’ assistant head coach of defense. Gus Bradley is the former head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars (2013-16) and has also had stops as the defensive coordinator in Seattle (2009-12), with the Los Angeles Chargers (2017-20), in Las Vegas (2021) and in Indianapolis (2022-24).
After the 49ers announced the move to sign Bradley, San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan shared what sold the staff on inking the young signal-caller.
“We had workouts yesterday with receivers and running backs and we brought him in to throw to them and he looked so good in the workout that made us go in and watch his clips. He had 38 passes last year and we really liked what we saw in his 38 passes. So, found a way to get him here,” Shanahan said.
With rookie quarterback Kurtis Rourke beginning training camp on the active/non-football injury list, the 49ers’ quarterback room got a little thinner. Shanahan was asked if the franchise needed a fourth quarterback to join Brock Purdy, Mac Jones and Tanner Mordecai to help limit the wear and tear on each.
“I don’t think you need one. You always want one. We’ve got some roster issues, so we wouldn’t do it unless we felt he had a legit shot. And we feel he does just watching him work out yesterday and watching his film, so that’s why we made room for him,” Shanahan said.
Bradley arrives in Santa Clara after spending last season with the Las Vegas Raiders, primarily as a practice squad member. The 6-foot-3, 213-pound quarterback signed with the Raiders as an undrafted free agent on April 29, 2024.
Bradley then signed to the team’s practice squad on August 28, 2024. The Jacksonville, Fla., native was elevated to the Raiders’ 53-man roster on a pair of occasions during the 2024 season as an emergency backup against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 8 and against Atlanta in Week 15. But, Bradley didn’t play on either occasion.
Bradley appeared in 46 games and completed 62.8% of his passes for 8,380 yards and 61 touchdowns at Toledo (2018-21) and South Alabama (2022-23).
This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 49ers sign QB Carter Bradley thanks to workout with WRs