Talkin' QBs — 49ers and around the NFL

Like most NFL teams, the 49ers kept three quarterbacks after their cut to 53 players.The 49ers gave it a long thought before deciding to part ways with veteran Josh Johnson while keeping Scott Tolzien as the No. 3 guy behind starter Alex Smith and backup Colin Kaepernick.RELATED: Video -- Matt and Mindi finalize the 49ers roster
"I won't delve into every aspect because really there was a lot of body of work," 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh said. "There was a lot of thought that went into it. I think about the quarterback position in some form or fashion every day."I can't tell you how close it was. It was a dead heat. Both those players made a great argument for both of them to help our team win on any given Sunday. It was close in the beginning, it remained close all the way through and it was a tough decision."In the NFL, a tie generally goes to the younger, less-expensive player. And such was the case here. Tolzien is 15 12 months younger than Johnson, and his appointment on the roster, instead of Johnson, saves the 49ers nearly 300,000 in salary this season.Following is a listing of each team's active quarterbacks:ARIZONA
Kevin Kolb, Houston, 6
Ryan Lindley, San Diego State, R
Starter: John Skelton, Fordham, 3ATLANTA
Dominique Davis, East Carolina, R
Luke McCown, Louisiana Tech, 9
Starter: Matt Ryan, Boston College, 5 BALTIMORE
Starter: Joe Flacco, Delaware, 5
Tyrod Taylor, Virginia Tech, 2BUFFALO
Starter: Ryan Fitzpatrick, Harvard, 7
Tarvaris Jackson, Alabama State, 7
Tyler Thigpen, Coastal Carolina, 4CAROLINA
Derek Anderson, Oregon State, 8
Jimmy Clausen, Notre Dame, 3
Starter: Cam Newton, Auburn, 2CHICAGO
Jason Campbell, Auburn, 8
Starter: Jay Cutler, Vanderbilt, 7 CINCINNATI
Starter: Andy Dalton, TCU, 2
Bruce Gradkowski, Toledo, 7CLEVELAND
Thaddeus Lewis, Duke, 2
Colt McCoy, Texas, 3
Starter: Brandon Weeden, Oklahoma State, RDALLAS
Kyle Orton, Purdue, 8
Starter: Tony Romo, Eastern Illinois, 10DENVER
Caleb Hanie, Colorado State, 5
Starter: Peyton Manning, Tennessee, 15
Brock Osweiler, Arizona State, RDETROIT
Shaun Hill, Maryland, 11
Kellen Moore, Boise State, R
Starter: Matthew Stafford, Georgia, 4GREEN BAY
Graham Harrell, Texas Tech, 1
Starter: Aaron Rodgers, California, 8HOUSTON
John Beck, Brigham Young, 6
Starter: Matt Schaub, Virginia, 9
T.J. Yates, North Carolina, 2INDIANAPOLIS
Chandler Harnish, Northern Illinois, R
Starter: Andrew Luck, Stanford, R
Drew Stanton, Michigan State, 5JACKSONVILLE
Starter: Blaine Gabbert, Missouri, 2
Chad Henne, Michigan, 4KANSAS CITY
Starter: Matt Cassel, Southern California, 8
Brady Quinn, Notre Dame, 6
Ricky Stanzi, Iowa, 2MIAMI
Pat Devlin, Delaware, 2
David Garrard, East Carolina, 9
Matt Moore, Oregon State, 6
Starter: Ryan Tannehill, Texas A&M, RMINNESOTA
McLeod Bethel-Thompson, Sacramento State, 1
Starter: Christian Ponder, Florida State, 2
Joe Webb, Alabama-Birmingham, 3NEW ENGLAND
Starter: Tom Brady, Michigan, 13
Ryan Mallett, Arkansas, 2NEW ORLEANS
Starter: Drew Brees, Purdue, 12
Chase Daniel, Missouri, 4NEW YORK GIANTS
David Carr, Fresno State, 11
Starter: Eli Manning, Mississippi, 9NEW YORK JETS
Greg McElroy, Alabama, 2
Starter: Mark Sanchez, Southern California, 4
Tim Tebow, Florida, 3OAKLAND
Matt Leinart, Southern California, 7
Starter: Carson Palmer, Southern California, 10
Terrelle Pryor, Ohio State, 2PHILADELPHIA
Trent Edwards, Stanford, 5
Nick Foles, Arizona, R
Starter: Michael Vick, Virginia Tech, 11PITTSBURGH
Charlie Batch, Eastern Michigan, 15
Byron Leftwich, Marshall, 10
Starter: Ben Roethlisberger, Miami (Ohio), 9ST. LOUIS
Starter: Sam Bradford, Oklahoma, 3
Austin Davis, Southern Mississippi, RSAN DIEGO
Starter: Philip Rivers, North Carolina State, 9
Charlie Whitehurst, Clemson, 7SAN FRANCISCO
Colin Kaepernick, Nevada, 2
Starter: Alex Smith, Utah, 8
Scott Tolzien, Wisconsin, 2SEATTLE
Matt Flynn, Louisiana State, 5
Starter: Russell Wilson, Wisconsin, RTAMPA BAY
Starter: Josh Freeman, Kansas State, 4
Dan Orlovsky, Connecticut, 7TENNESSEE
Matt Hasselbeck, Boston College, 14
Starter: Jake Locker, Washington, 2
Rusty Smith, Florida Atlantic, 3WASHINGTON
Kirk Cousins, Michigan State, R
Starter: Robert Griffin III, Baylor, R
Rex Grossman, Florida, 10Note: According to the NFL, the five rookie quarterbacks who will debut as starters is the most since at least 1950. The previous high was three in 1968 (Dan Darragh, Buffalo; Greg Landry, Detroit; and Dewey Warren, Cincinnati) and 1969 (Greg Cook, Cincinnati; James Harris, Buffalo; Roger Staubach, Dallas).