It's a subject that's mostly been skated around, but also one the San Francisco 49ers are being realistic about when they talk publicly. They've alluded to it like the elephant in the room without spelling it out. It's been both a cloud over the season and a catalyst for the improbable playoff run that ended Sunday night when San Francisco lost the NFC Championship Game to the L.A. Rams.
"I'm not going to sit here and make a farewell statement or anything right now. That's the last stuff on my mind," 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said in the bowels of SoFi Stadium afterward.
The "farewell statement" Shanahan mentioned, of course, was the fact Jimmy Garoppolo likely played his last game as the 49ers' quarterback. The last desperate heave, a backhanded throw to JaMycal Hasty that was intercepted to effectively end the game with just over a minute left, is expected to be Garoppolo's last pass in a 49ers gold helmet.
