San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has had his highs and lows through his games in the Bay Area. After leading San Francisco to victories in the first five games which earned him a five-year, $137.5 million contract, the former New England Patriot was the rising star. However, later he ended his 2021 season in disappointment when the 49ers blew a 17-7 fourth-quarter lead to lose 20-17 to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game.
Entering his last year with the 49ers, the existing belief is that Garoppolo will likely be traded to fully turn the page to the Trey Lance era. Lance is a North Dakota State prodigy who was acquired by San Francisco in early 2021.
Obviously, John Lynch, the general manager of the 49ers, will be making part of the biggest decision regarding Jimmy G’s future with the franchise. Lynch made it clear Wednesday on the NFL Network’s Good Morning Football that trade discussions are ongoing. He talks about Garoppolo’s future and Lance’s development.
.@49ers GM John Lynch on the future of Jimmy G and the progress he's seen from Trey Lance.
"He's everything we thought he was when we traded a lot to go get him." pic.twitter.com/w5Sf0MzJLd
— Good Morning Football (@gmfb) March 2, 2022
Trey Lance development
“He definitely had his ‘wow’ moments,” Lynch said on Wednesday. “You could see the development, the confidence. You’re on scout team, and .. and throw this ball in there. But then he would and it would actually get in there.”
Thanking Kyle Shanahan, head coach of the 49ers, John Lynch expressed that choosing the 21-year-old is an ideal decision. Shanahan who was absent from NFL Combine was replaced by John Lynch.
“We’re loving the development of Trey. Trey had an outstanding first year,” Lynch said. However, some people have their doubts due to the fact that the two-time FCS champion barely played.
Lynch rejected the thoughts and said, “But the development was tremendous. I think Kyle did a great job of finding ways to develop without playing a ton of football on Sundays.”
As opposed to what Adam Schefter, an NFL insider, had said previously about Trey Lance “Further behind than people realized” to Ari Meirov podcast, Lynch and Shanahan believed that Lance is ready.
“I tell people he’s everything we thought he was when we traded a lot to go get him — and more. And, you know, I really believe that.” While the team is certainly satisfied with the Minessota-native player, it probably could be the closing of the end to Garoppolo with the 49ers.
"He's everything we thought he was."@49ers GM John Lynch woke up with @gmfb to talk some Trey Lance. pic.twitter.com/26piDoB6KW
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) March 2, 2022
Jimmy G future
Lynch suggested that many teams are looking for quarterbacks at the moment. For whatever decision will be made, Lynch expressed that he knows “(Jimmy G. is) a part of (the team) and he’s gonna work diligently to get back from this surgery.”
Certainly, the 30-year-old’s shoulder injury will impact his trade value. On the contrary, Lynch reported that Garoppolo already has several suitors. With his procedure, doctors suggested that he would be available to play at the latest end of June or early July.
“There’s always Plan A, Plan B, Plan C,” Lynch said. “Right now, when we’re talking about his shoulder, I’m worried about that for the Niners and for Jimmy. .., we have had some discussions with teams and we’ll continue to.”
From Garoppolo’s perspective when he was talking to Lynch on February 1 about him just wanting “to go to a place where they want to win,” might make it seems even clearer that he will be playing with new teams post-recovery.