NaVorro Bowman's injury could have silver lining

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- The San Francisco 49ers might have found their quarterback of the future Sunday.

And it had nothing to do with anything that happened on the offensive side of the ball in their 24-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

Rather, with standout linebacker NaVorro Bowman suffering an Achilles injury that will sideline him for the rest of the season, the 49ers cleared the path to one of the top draft picks next May.

Maybe even the No. 1.

Hello, quarterback.

"The next guy has some big shoes to fill," safety Eric Reid said.

He was talking about Bowman's replacement, not the next quarterback. But both are inevitable.

Bowman suffered the injury simply moving toward Cowboys receiver Brice Butler on an 11-yard reception midway through the third quarter.

He had to be carted off the field and Monday an MRI revealed the damage -- enough to require season-ending surgery.

Coincidence or not, the 49ers never scored again after Bowman got hurt, watching a 17-14 lead turn into a 24-17 defeat.

The loss dropped the 49ers to 1-3. Only one team (Cleveland, 0-4) has a worse record, and they're already starting a rookie quarterback.

And now the 49ers, who had pre-existing quarterback issues, have an even bigger problem on the other side of the ball.

The potential replacements are Michael Wilhoite, Nick Bellore and Shayne Skov.

"We have no choice," veteran safety Antoine Bethea said of moving on without Bowman. "It's next man up. Injuries are a tough part of this game. It happens to all the teams."

Bowman led the NFL in tackles last season and had a team-high 35 -- tied for 13th best in the league -- this year before the injury.

Despite employing lackluster options -- Jacksonville disappointment Blaine Gabbert and Colin Kaepernick coming off three surgeries -- the 49ers opted not to draft a quarterback last May until the sixth round.

Several already have played their way onto the field on far superior teams.

The Philadelphia Eagles (Carson Wentz), Denver Broncos (Paxton Lynch) and New England Patriots (Jacoby Brissett), teams with a combined 10-1 record through Sunday, all played rookie quarterbacks in Week 4, as did the Dallas Cowboys (Dak Prescott) in their win over the 49ers.

The 49ers, who picked seventh, had no shot at Wentz. But they traded up into the bottom of the first round (where Lynch was taken), and instead pinpointed guard Joshua Garnett, who has yet to crack a very average starting offensive line.

Brissett went in Round 3, after the 49ers had opted for cornerback Will Redmond.

And Prescott was taken in the fourth round, two picks after the 49ers picked a second cornerback, Rashard Robinson.

It's early, but two of the consensus top-five picks in the next draft are quarterbacks: Deshaun Watson of Clemson and DeShone Kizer of Notre Dame.