Shaun Hill

Hill started eight games for the Rams last season, but injuries and the play of Austin Davis kept him from completing a whole season under center. Following an offseason move to the Vikings, the 14-year veteran will serve as the backup to Teddy Bridgewater. Having played for Norv Turner in San Francisco in 2006, his familiarity with Turner’s offensive system could pay dividends should he be forced into action.

Hill didn't attempt a pass with the Lions in all of last season, but owns a 62 percent completion rate and 41:23 TD:INT ratio over his career. He'll now have a chance to lead the Rams' offense, with Sam Bradford having suffered a torn ACL.

Hill is expected to back up Matthew Stafford in 2013.

Hill will be the first in line to take snaps should injury befall Matthew Stafford, who has dealt with his fair share of maladies in his short career. He threw just three passes last year after playing in 11 games in 2010.

As the backup for what might be the league�s least durable quarterback, Hill is much closer to stepping onto the field than most No. 2 QBs. He was surprisingly productive last year, throwing for 250 yards or more in six of his 10 starts while totaling 16 passing touchdowns in the same span. You can probably expect a similar showing from the 10-year veteran if Matthew Stafford goes down again in 2011.

Hill is the presumptive No. 2 quarterback behind second-year pro Matthew Stanford. Drew Stanton will be in the mix during training camp, but Hill certainly has a leg up. Stafford dealt with knee and shoulder injuries last season and the Lion' offensive line is barely mediocre, making a stint under center for Hill not out of the realm of possibility. But it'll take an injury to Stafford to make that happen as the Lions are committed to the former Georgia signal caller.

He’s not pretty, but he gets it done. Sort of a modern-day Billy Kilmer. Alas, he’ll have to get it done now without Mike Martz, who has been rudely jettisoned from the NFL completely. So all those inspiring stats from last year, including the most impressive 7.1 YPA as an inexperienced starter, are moot. Of course, Mike Singletary wants to emphasize defense and thus brought in Jimmy Raye, a former running back coach for the Jets, to run the attack. That tells us the Niners are going to be run first and second and maybe pass when absolutely necessary. Gone, too, then (or at least rendered more moot) is Hill’s sparkling 7.9 YPA on first downs. Frank Gore is going to get the rock 70 percent of the time on first-and-10 now. And the attack is probably going to be more conservative in limiting downfield throws (23 percent of Hill’s attempts last year despite the below-average raw NFL arm strength). Michael Crabtree was drafted, and that’s encouraging. But he’s unlikely to have a significant impact as a rookie with the weight of the entire passing game on his shoulders. That means too much attention from opposing secondaries. We also must note that former No. 1 overall pick Alex Smith, coming off major throwing shoulder surgery, has a chance to emerge as the starter. But Raye was apprised in the offseason that Hill is a bad practice player who gets it done in games. So how can he lose the job before the season starts?

Mike Martz offers hope for the owners of Niners QBs. But Alex Smith seems like an empty vessel. Look at the numbers: Hill had five TDs in 80 attempts with a 101 QB rating. Sure, the YPA was a pedestrian 6.3, suggesting the TDs were a fluke. And he fumbled three times on four sacks, losing two. The sample size is also miniscule. But Smith had two TD passes in 193 attempts, posted a pathetic 4.7 YPA and has been backsliding since September of 2006. Yes, Martz is his fourth offensive coordinator in four years, but Smith's the primary reason those predecessors got canned. The major surgery to his throwing shoulder is another issue, as is his public feud with his head coach. Smith's leash is two games, max, and might be as short as two quarters. The career progressions of Smith and Hill are a perfect illustration of how flummoxed NFL decision makers are when it comes to scouting and developing QBs. Hill wasn't even drafted and got some attention only after playing well in NFL Europe, which no longer even exists. He came to the Niners by way of the Vikings and only got a chance to start a game when all the other options were injured. Now, he has a three-year deal and a serious chance to start over a No. 1 overall pick who plays like an undrafted free agent. Whoever emerges in August should be a late-round pocket pick as a third QB because of Martz, who has made a career of turning other people's castoffs into fantasy value and sometimes even fantasy gold.

Third quarterback for the 49ers.

Hill, the #3 quarterback in Minnesota the past three years, will battle Jesse Palmer to serve a similar role in SF.

Hill returns as the third-string quarterback, but he has yet to throw a pass in a regular season game.

Hill returns as the third quarterback for Minnesota, but hasn't played a snap during the regular season in his two-year career.

Third string QB for the Vikes. He spent the offseason in NFL Europe, leading the league in passing yards (2,256) and finishing second in touchdown passes (13).