Getty John Lynch will bring in Wisconsin quarterback Tanner Mordecai for depth.
The San Francisco 49ers didn’t take a late-round quarterback this year, but the team will sign Wisconsin’s Tanner Mordecai after the draft as an undrafted free agent per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
Wisconsin offensive coordinator Phil Longo called him a “warrior” and said that he made a big impression in one season with the Badgers. Mordecai, who also played for Oklahoma and SMU, will make it four quarterbacks on the 49ers roster now behind Brock Purdy, Joshua Dobbs, and Brandon Allen.
“I tell Tanner every day that I wish I had him for three or four years,” Longo told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in December 2023. “And I just appreciate him as a person, appreciate him for the warrior that he is. Coaches throw that word around a lot, but he is one of the toughest quarterbacks I’ve ever coached.”
“From a mental standpoint and a physical standpoint. He’s been that way since the day he got here. It’s 100% who and what he is. That’s what we were looking for in our quarterback and we got it. The only regret I have is that he was injured,” Longo added.
Because Mordecai injured his hand, he only threw for 2,006 yards and nine touchdowns versus four interceptions in 2023. He also garnered 304 yards rushing and four touchdowns.
Mordecai can compete at camp and possibly make the practice squad unless he impresses the 49ers coaching staff enough to leapfrog Allen or Dobbs. The 49ers had a similar thing happen before on final day of the 2022 draft when the team took Purdy with the final pick.
Tanner Mordecai Saw More Success Before Badgers Stint
A Waco, Texas, native, Mordecai started his college career at Oklahoma for three seasons followed by two seasons with SMU before he transferred to Wisconsin. Overall, Mordecai threw for 9,857 yards and 85 touchdowns versus 27 interceptions in his career.
His best seasons came at SMU where he lit things up for the Mustangs. Mordecai completed 67.8% of his passes for 3,628 yards and 39 touchdowns versus 12 picks in 2021. He fared well in 2022 with 3,524 yards passing and 33 touchdowns versus 10 interceptions.
Tanner Mordecai Won Over Fellow Badgers QB for Toughness
Fellow Badgers quarterback Luke Fickell similarly noted Mordecai’s toughness as Longo did. Fickell had to step in for Mordecai during the season last year, but Mordecai finished out the season after his return.
“There was never a hesitation at what he wanted to do and what he was going to do,” Fickell said via Badger Notes in March. “There’s a guy that played on a broken hand after three and a half weeks or four weeks, couldn’t clap for four weeks out there, I mean, and there was never hesitation as to whether he was going to play in this game or not.”
“And you know, for him to go out and not just play the way he did but practice the way he did lead the way that did to help us move our program forward and, and kind of set an example of what things can look like when you when you really dive all in,” Fickel added.