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The relationship between Jimmy Garoppolo and the 49ers might not be coming to an end after this season, after all.
Just a few months after the two sides mutually began the process of parting ways, only for Garoppolo to find his way back on the field in place of the injured Trey Lance, both the team and the quarterback are open to him returning to San Francisco in 2023, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Although there remains ample time for a decision to be made, a scenario that would keep Garoppolo with the Niners is not off the table, per Rapoport.
Given where things stood between the veteran quarterback and the team during the summer, a reunion next season would have been seen as improbable at best.
The 49ers actively tried to trade Garoppolo throughout the summer and both sides were aligned on the decision to do so. However, the fact that Garoppolo underwent shoulder surgery in the spring led teams to shy away from striking a deal with the NFC West franchise.
That led the Niners to re-sign the 31-year-old to an incentive-laden deal worth $6.5 million guaranteed, with the chance to earn up to $16 million. Still, Garoppolo entered the 2022 campaign as the backup to Lance, the No. 3 pick in the 2021 draft.
Lance suffered a severe ankle injury in Week 2 and was ruled out for the year, leading the 49ers to turn to Garoppolo once again after spending most of the offseason trying to trade him. The veteran has responded by leading to San Francisco to a 7–4 record and first place in the NFC West.
That success on the field, and the amicable relationship that both sides were able to maintain throughout the events of the past nine months, may mean Garoppolo and the 49ers will continue on together for at least another year.
