Until a resolution is reached, the 49ers’ quarterback situation will remain one of the NFL’s hottest topics of offseason conversation.
After undergoing unexpected shoulder surgery on March 8, Jimmy Garoppolo remains on the 49ers’ roster even as they prepare to transition to the Trey Lance era.
General manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan have been in lockstep with their public comments about Garoppolo’s future with the organization. They won’t cut him. They have budgeted for him to be on the roster in 2022. There was Shanahan on Tuesday at the Annual NFL Meeting saying he wouldn’t say if Lance would be the Week 1 starter if Garoppolo returns to the 49ers.
Of course, this had fans and analysts pulling out their hair, going into some sort of catatonic shock at the thought of the 49ers hampering Lance’s development and keeping him on the bench for another season in favor of Garoppolo.
But it’s not hard to decipher Shanahan’s view and desired outcome if you parse through the comments he gave Tuesday when talking to Bay Area reporters.
“We’re willing to do anything — the best we can do for the Niners,” Shanahan said Tuesday when asked about keeping or cutting Garoppolo. “The good thing is we don’t have to decide it today. We’re trying to see what the best thing is for the Niners, and having a good quarterback like Jimmy is not a bad thing. Being able to upgrade our roster by getting draft picks is a really good thing. What’s the timeline on that? It’s different when you get surgery. So that’s what we’re all dealing with. That’s really as simple as it is.”
It doesn’t take an ace detective to parse through these comments.
Shanahan likes that the 49ers have options as it pertains to Garoppolo. He sees value in the possibility of having more than one quarterback who he can trust to start, and having the ability to keep Garoppolo should the 49ers deem it necessary. But he clearly values the draft capital the 49ers hope to get in a trade for Garoppolo more than he does bringing back the 30-year-old signal-caller. See the phrases “not a bad thing” and “a really good thing.”
What’s clear is that Shanahan and Lynch are trying to create leverage, or at the very least, create the illusion that they have leverage. (They do not.)
The idea that Shanahan would entertain bringing back Garoppolo to compete with or start over Lance is a bill of goods the 49ers are trying to sell that no one is buying.
It’s clear the focus is on Lance.
“You’ve got to make sure that you’re not hindering his development,” Shanahan said. “Trey’s working his tail off. He knows how I feel about him. He knows what our expectations are for him. And I think he’s got a lot of respect for Jimmy. But the situation is clear. We were trying to make a move to add some draft pick, and we were pretty close to it. And then Jimmy ended up getting the surgery, which changes things.
“I think Trey will understand all that. I haven’t had to talk to him about it. But I think it makes sense for all these guys. Trey’s not an insecure guy. I think the situation makes sense. There’s nothing sneaky going on about it. And he’s confident.”
Shanahan noted he talks with Lance “all the time.” As for Garoppolo, not so much.
“We don’t do a lot of talking in the offseason. Jimmy is not the most communicating guy,” Shanahan said.
The 49ers really aren’t trying to hide anything. There’s no quarterback controversy. They aren’t going to sideline Lance for another season just because they haven’t found a taker for Garoppolo.
Shanahan got irritated during the last season with the constant questions about whether Garoppolo or Lance was going to start. Shanahan thought he made it clear Garoppolo was the starter until he wasn’t and got irked he had to keep answering questions he felt he already answered.
That’s why when my colleague Matt Maiocco asked Shanahan on Tuesday if Lance would be the starter, we got the typical “I might not name a starter” bit from the 49ers head coach.
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But what he said at a different point Tuesday tells you all you need to know.
“That’s why we looked into trading Jimmy, because we obviously believe Trey can be the starter and we’re ready to do that,” Shanahan said. “But if we can’t upgrade our team in another way, we’re just gonna get rid of a good quarterback because we have other quarterbacks on our roster.
“Quarterbacks are really hard to come by. Some teams don’t have any at all. The fact that we have three that we’re happy with, that is a good thing. You always want to upgrade your team. We have all guys that are capable of starting. Jimmy’s done a great job for us. We brought Trey here to be that eventually. I think that’ll be sooner than later.”
The 49ers’ intention was always to turn things over to Lance. He has given them no reason to change course, and Shanahan has given no indication he plans to alter it. If the 49ers can’t trade Garoppolo, he’ll be on the roster. Will he throw passes? Highly unlikely.
Shanahan has told us what the plan is. All you have to do is listen.
