Former San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke doesn't really keep up with what his old team does these days. For the most part, he has been relatively silent since being ousted by the 49ers following the 2016 season. Baalke did, however, resurface on two Canadian radio stations on Thursday.
Most of the conversation surrounded the hot topic of the week, former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who has been in the headlines thanks to his partnership with Nike.
Baalke was also asked about the current state of his former team.
"I'm removed from them, living in central Wisconsin, quite honestly don't follow the media quite often, and I have my own things going on," Baalke said TSN 690 Montreal, as transcribed by Cam Inman of Bay Area News Group. "Any time you can get that (quarterback) position nailed down, the rest generally falls in place. Historically when you're strong at that position, you field a pretty competitive football team."
Regarding Jimmy Garoppolo, Baalke sees the potential but isn't ready to put him on Tom Brady's or Drew Brees' level after just seven starts.
"He's got all the makings," he said during a separate interview with 1040 TSN Vancouver. "He's got a quick release. He's super smart. He's accurate. He's a quick decision maker. He can throw into tight windows. He's got a nice ball. He's got all the makings, but you've got to do it. One year doesn't make a quarterback, just like seven games doesn't make a quarterback. Those guys we're talking about with Brady and Brees, they've done it from Day 1 through their career, and it's taken a while to get to their stature.
"It's no different for Garoppolo. All the signs are positive. Now he's got to go do it, and do it for a year, then next year string another year on top of it, then if he does that, you're talking about him long term. Right now, he's got to step out in a big environment and produce on a weekly basis."
Garoppolo will show what he can do in "a big environment" when he and the 49ers travel to Minnesota to play the Vikings on Sunday.
Click here to read Inman's entire transcription of the two radio interviews with Baalke.
