Former Wisconsin QB excels in first NFL preseason action

Former Wisconsin Badgers and current San Francisco 49ers quarterback Tanner Mordecai performed well in his NFL debut on Sunday.

The Badgers’ 2023 starter completed four of six pass attempts for 44 yards in limited action in the 49ers’ 16-10 preseason Week 2 win over the New Orleans Saints.

Mordecai is currently No. 4 on the 49ers’ depth chart behind starter Brock Purdy, backup Joshua Dobbs and third-string Brandon Allen. Purdy played the team’s first three series of Sunday’s game, giving way to Dobbs (21 pass attempts), then Allen (10 attempts), and finally to Mordecai.

“I thought he did a good job,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said of Mordecai after the game. “He got a couple chances with some throws. He ran the huddle very well. He got us in and out. I think he took us on that drive to get a field goal there at the end. Wish he’d got a little bit more, but did good with what we gave him.”

The 49ers kicked a field goal at the end of Mordecai’s one drive of the evening. He led the team to a 1st-and-10 situation at the Saints’ 20 yard-line, though only gained two yards from that point.

The former Badger received such limited action due to his place on the team’s depth chart, as he was only signed as an undrafted free agent after the 2024 NFL draft.

Mordecai is looking for an NFL job after spending just the final season of his six-year college career at Wisconsin. He began his career at Oklahoma before transferring to SMU, then finishing with the Badgers.

The veteran threw for 2,066 yards, nine touchdowns and four interceptions with the Badgers in 2023. He missed a chunk of the season with a broken hand suffered in an October loss to Iowa.

Wisconsin has one former quarterback currently playing in the NFL: program legend Russell Wilson. Mordecai will look to add to that number as the 2024 season progresses. He is a likely candidate to begin on the 49ers practice squad until other opportunities present themselves.

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