It’s rare for a team to create a win-win scenario when adding a young franchise-quarterback candidate to a roster that already features an established QB1, but the San Francisco 49ers might have constructed an environment that will help them win today and tomorrow, while also putting their veteran signal-caller in position to cash another big check in the near future.
Perhaps that was the exact plan John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan had in mind when the Niners traded up to the No. 3 pick and eventually drafted Trey Lance with Jimmy Garoppolo still entrenched as the starter.
Jimmy G owns a 22-8 record as San Francisco’s starter and led the 49ers to a Super Bowl two seasons ago, but the organization’s brain trust still felt the need to spend three first-round picks and a third-rounder on another arm. The bold move clearly spawned — at least in part — from Garoppolo missing 23 games due to injury over the past three seasons, leading to concerns about his durability as a starting quarterback. That said, the 49ers certainly value their QB1, who still has two years left on a five-year, $137.5 million extension, though the dead-money implications would no longer be prohibitive to a trade or release. And the team believes the relationship remains a healthy one, built on consistent transparency.
“I think Jimmy’s got a really good trust in myself and Kyle,” Lynch told Colin Cowherd last week. “I think you earn that, and I think, from Day 1, we’ve been very upfront with Jimmy. When I went to Jimmy, I told him the truth. Like, ‘Look, we have made a decision that we’re going to pursue a quarterback this offseason. You know, Jimmy, when you’ve played, you’ve been tremendous, and the record speaks to that. We feel like there’s room for growth. The biggest thing has been it’s hard to keep you on the field.’ That’s not an easy thing to tell a player, but Jimmy took it tremendously.”
There is no denying Garoppolo’s impact on San Francisco when he is on the field. In 31 games with the 49ers over the past four seasons, Jimmy G has completed 67.5 percent of his passes with a 46:26 touchdown-to-interception ratio and 98.1 passer rating. Most importantly, Garoppolo has won 73.3 percent of his starts. Perhaps this explains why Niners brass has been adamant that Garoppolo remains central to the franchise’s plans in 2021, despite the fact that the 29-year-old carries a base salary of $24.1 million and the team just ostensibly drafted his replacement. Lynch reiterated this mindset in his conversation with Cowherd:
“And my other commitment was, ‘But here’s the good news, Jimmy: We don’t want you to go anywhere. We want you to be here, and our ownership has made the commitment that we can do that. We can fit it in our cap, and we think it’s a good situation for you; probably not the one you ultimately want to hear. I’m sure you want to be the long-term guy. There’s a flip side to that. You still could be.’ Because he’s going to have a chance to compete and earn that job, and we’re just going to let that play out. But Jimmy’s a really good football player.”
Garoppolo has a solid résumé, but some believe that he’s not the total package as a passer/playmaker — and that San Francisco needed to upgrade the position to maximize its potential as a title contender.
“He is a good player, but he misses a handful of throws each game that should be considered layups,” a former NFL player and offensive assistant told me. “Shanahan is one of the best in the business at designing ‘can’t-miss’ explosive plays, but there are times when Jimmy doesn’t see it or flat out misses. That has to cause some frustration in the offensive meeting room.”
