Until a resolution is reached, the 49ers’ quarterback situation will remain one of the NFL’s hottest offseason topics of conversation.
Following unexpected shoulder surgery on March 8, Jimmy Garoppolo remains with the 49ers as they prepare to transition into the Trey Lance era.
General manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan have been in lockstep with their public comments on Garoppolo’s future with the organization. You will not cut him. They have planned for him to be on the squad in 2022. On Tuesday, at the annual NFL meeting, Shanahan said he would not say if Lance would be the week one starter if Garoppolo returns to the 49ers.
Of course, fans and analysts tore their hair and went into a kind of catatonic shock at the thought that the 49ers would stall Lance’s development and bench him for another season in favor of Garoppolo.
But it’s not hard to decipher Shanahan’s view and desired outcome if you go through the comments he made while speaking to Bay Area reporters on Tuesday.
“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 that we don’t have to decide today. We’re trying to figure out what’s best for the Niners, and having a good quarterback like Jimmy isn’t a bad thing. Being able to improve our roster through draft picks is a really good thing. What is the schedule for this? It is different with an operation. So that’s what we’re all dealing with. It really is as simple as it is.”
It doesn’t take a great detective to analyze these comments.
Shanahan likes that the 49ers have options when it comes to Garoppolo. He sees value in the ability to have more than one quarterback he can trust to start and the ability to keep Garoppolo should the 49ers feel 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. Look at the phrases “not a bad thing” and “a really good thing.”
What is clear is that Shanahan and Lynch are trying to pressure, or at least create the illusion that they have influence. (You don’t.)
The idea that Shanahan would consider bringing Garoppolo back to compete with Lance or start over is a list of goods the 49ers are trying to sell that nobody is buying.
It’s clear that the focus is on Lance.
“You have to make sure you don’t impede his development,” Shanahan said. “Trey is working his ass off. He knows how I feel about him. He knows what we expect from him. And I think he has a lot of respect for Jimmy. But the situation is clear. We tried to make a move to add a draft pick and we came pretty close. And then Jimmy had surgery, which changes things.
“I think Trey will understand all of this. I didn’t have to talk to him about it. But I think it makes sense for all these guys. Trey is not an insecure guy. I think the situation makes sense. There’s nothing sneaky about that. And he’s confident.”
Shanahan noted that he talks to Lance “all the time”. As for Garoppolo, not so much.
“We don’t talk much in the off-season. Jimmy isn’t the most communicative guy,” Shanahan said.
The 49ers are really trying to hide nothing. There is no quarterback controversy. They won’t sideline Lance for another season just because they couldn’t find a taker for Garoppolo.
Shanahan was irritated last season by the constant questions about whether Garoppolo or Lance would be in the starting XI. Shanahan thought he made it clear that Garoppolo was the starter, until he wasn’t, angered that he kept having to answer questions he thought he’d already answered.
So when my colleague Matt Maiocco asked Shanahan Tuesday if Lance would be the starter, we got the typical “I might not name a starter” from the 49ers head coach.
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But what he said elsewhere on Tuesday tells you everything you need to know.
“That’s why we looked into trading Jimmy, because obviously we think Trey can be the starter, and we’re ready for that,” Shanahan said. “But if we can’t improve our team in any other way, we’re just going to 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 is a good thing. You always want to improve your team. We all have guys who are capable, to start. Jimmy has done a great job for us. We brought Trey here to be that eventually. I think that will be sooner than later.
The 49ers’ intention was always to hand things over to Lance. He has given them no reason to change course, and Shanahan has given no indication that he intends to change course. If the 49ers can’t trade Garoppolo, he will be on the list. Will he throw passes? Very unlikely.
Shanahan shared the plan with us. All you have to do is listen.
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