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The San Francisco 49ers just may have some Oakland representation on their 2023 active roster after all.
After being down to fourth stringer Josh Johnson (who was born in Oakland) in the NFC title game, the 49ers have now allowed another Oakland native to give the Niners a try in XFL quarterback Steven Montez, who got an invite to attend their rookie minicamp per 49ers insider Eric Branch on Sunday, May 7.
Montez is Son of Former Raider
Montez’s Oakland roots stems from his father Alfred Montez.
The elder Montez suited up briefly for the Oakland Raiders for one season in 1996. That was during a time he was in a quarterback room with starter Jeff Hostetler and Billy Joe Hobert and had Tim Brown as one of the wide receiver options.
The son, though, eventually drifted away from the Bay Area with his family. They landed in El Paso, Texas where the future Colorado Buffalo earned city Most Valuable Player honors his senior season.
He later put together a stellar career in Boulder, Colorado in suiting up for the Colorado Buffaloes. Per the school, he shattered 43 school records and 31 outright — which includes throwing the most career touchdown passes for the Buffs. He’s additionally one of just two Buffalo quarterbacks to surpass the 10,000-yard passing mark with 10,479 career yards — placing him second all-time behind school leader Sefo Liufau.
Montez, though, went undrafted in the 2020 NFL Draft. Draft expert Lance Zierlein of nfl.com mentioned that despite the record-breaking accolades, the Buffs passer wasn’t the best field processor which explained his 33 career interceptions.
“Montez has good size with decent arm talent and mobility but has failed to take steps forward as a three-year starter. He’s slow to get through progressions and doesn’t filter through coverages well enough to craft sustainable passing plans,” Zierlein wrote. “Teams may see him as a developmental prospect based upon physical traits, but his interceptions were mostly easy takeaways and that doesn’t figure to improve against faster talent on the backend.”
Montez wound up with the Washington Commanders to start his NFL career as a UDFA. He then found his way to the Detroit Lions where he spent 2021 and 2022. He was last seen with the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL following his stop with the Lions.
Montez a Fill-in After XFL Stint?
One reason behind the move to allow Montez to compete in rookie minicamp? The lack of rookie passers for the 49ers in their upcoming minicamp.
With May 12 and May 13 on the horizon, the 49ers needed to find an eligible rookie quarterback to work through their drills with the 2023 class of first-year players. The current QB lineup for the Niners — Brock Purdy, Trey Lance, Sam Darnold and Brandon Allen — are all ineligible to compete with the rooks. And, the 49ers opted to not draft a quarterback (a first since 2020) or even sign an undrafted passer following the 2023 NFL Draft.
Montez, even as a QB who came into the NFL three years ago, has never thrown a single pass during a live regular season game. Now he can help fill a brief needed area for the Niners.
