Who is the 49ers’ emergency quarterback? San Francisco’s options if Brock Purdy, Josh Johnson are both injured

The 49ers quarterback position may be in need of some Juice.

Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers are facing a doomsday scenario in the NFC championship game; Now on their fourth quarterback of the 2022 season, Josh Johnson entered the game in the place of Brock Purdy in the first quarter.

Purdy injured his elbow on a strip-sack, leading to Johnson’s first playoff action of his career and down just 7-0 in the second quarter. There is cause to worry, though, should the veteran backup get hurt.

MORE: Who is the 49ers backup QB? What to know about Josh Johnson

The 49ers only rostered two active quarterbacks in the NFC championship game with injuries to both Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo. Now, if things go very sideways, then the team may turn to QB5 on the year — and it happens to be FB1.

Here’s what to know about the team’s emergency QB:

Who is the 49ers emergency quarterback?

If Josh Johnson gets hurt and Purdy cannot reenter the game, then the team will turn to longtime fullback Kyle Juszczyk as the team’s emergency quarterback. 

For those asking, FB Kyle Juszczyk is the #49ers emergency QB.

— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) September 18, 2022

Juszczyk has never thrown a pass in an NFL game, nor did he in college. While at Harvard, “Juice” played tight end and was named first-team All-Ivy in 2011 and 2012. 

Juszczyk has been an underrated piece of the team’s offense for years as both a blocking fullback and a security blanket receiver for whoever is under center. In 2022, he caught 19 passes for 200 yards. 

Now, he may be the security blank for quarterback, as well.

49ers quarterback depth chart in NFC championship game

With injuries to Trey Lance (out for season, Week 1 ankle injury) and Jimmy Garoppolo (injured foot in Week 13), the team only had two active quarterbacks on gameday: Brock Purdy and Josh Johnson.

In the NFC championship game, Purdy went down with a first-quarter elbow injury (officially listed as questionable) leading to the playoff debut of Josh Johnson.

Johnson, the journeyman quarterback, is the last line of defense for the 49ers quarterback situation. If the team ends up in dire straights and needs to play another healthy body, then they’ll turn to fullback Kyle Juszczyk to take snaps.