The 49ers haven’t unloaded veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo yet, but that hasn’t changed their plans with second-year signal caller Trey Lance.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Tuesday at the NFL owners meetings discussed the ongoing QB saga San Francisco entered when they traded up to No. 3 overall in last year’s draft to select Lance. While holding onto Garoppolo wasn’t their ideal scenario, it’s one Shanahan believes they can navigate with the path still leading to Lance starting in 2022.
“That’s why we looked into trading Jimmy, because we obviously believe that Trey can be a starter and we’re ready to do that,” Shanahan said via ESPN’s Nick Wagoner. “But if we can’t upgrade our team in another way, we’re not just going to get rid of a good quarterback because we have other quarterbacks on the roster. Quarterbacks are really hard to come by. Some teams don’t have any at all, and the fact that we have three that we’re happy with, that is a good thing.”
It’s clear the 49ers believe they have an asset in Garoppolo, even though he is coming off offseason surgery on his throwing shoulder. While his trade market may have simmered, there’s no real hurry for San Francisco to move off of him.
The optimal outcome for the 49ers would’ve been trading Garoppolo for a first-round pick. That would’ve cleared the way for Lance to start without any questions. While that didn’t come to fruition, San Francisco is opting to view the change in direction as a positive. If Garoppolo is in camp with the team, they’re viewing it as a chance for healthy competition.
However, Garoppolo is expected to be ready to throw by late June or early July. Shanahan intimated that questions about his surgically repaired shoulder have been the hold up in a possible trade.
“We brought Trey here to be that eventually, and I think that will be sooner than later, but when Jimmy gets his surgery and we can’t upgrade our team by getting some good picks until people feel good about that (shoulder), I’m all right with that,” Shanahan said via Wagoner. “We’re not just getting rid of him to get rid of him. Jimmy is a good player that we all really like as a person and as a teammate, and we’re going to wait to see whatever helps the Niners the most.”
While the road to Week 1 of the 2022 season hasn’t been as smooth as the 49ers might’ve envisioned when they embarked on this journey at the beginning of last year’s draft, it’s becoming clear the ending will remain the same – with Lance lining up as the starting QB.
