John Lynch appreciates the way Jimmy Garoppolo handled the whole situation. It wasn't easy for the quarterback to learn that the San Francisco 49ers planned to draft his eventual replacement. Some would simply ask to be traded. After all, why stick around where you aren't wanted?
But that wasn't the case for Garoppolo. The 49ers still wanted to keep him for at least the upcoming season. General manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan went to owner Jed York and laid out their plan to trade up in the draft to select a quarterback but asked to keep Garoppolo, too.
Normally, such a personnel decision would fall solely on them, but in this case, Garoppolo's massive salary prompted the duo to make sure it had ownership's blessing. After all, the quarterback is due to earn $24.1 million this season.
York was fine with the plan because he understood that it meant a better chance of winning now and drafting to win for the future, too.
"When it initially happened, there's a million emotions that go on throughout your head, and you think of all the possible scenarios and things like that," Garoppolo told reporters on Tuesday. "But at the end of the day, I want to play football. I want to go out there and win games. That's what I do.
"It wasn't anything too crazy. It took a little while to process everything. But once I did, it was just go out there and ball. You've just got to attack it."
Now, San Francisco has two quarterbacks it feels can win football games. If Lance pans out, the team's championship window extends well beyond the next couple of years.
Lynch recalls what he thought was going to be a difficult discussion with his veteran quarterback, informing him of the offseason plan.
"I remember, when I first kind of went to [Garoppolo], and talked about this concept," Lynch said on the Cris Collinsworth Podcast. "The first thing he said (was), 'John, will I have a chance to compete?' I said, 'Of course you will. We're going to play the guy who gives us the best chance. Yeah, you'll have a chance to compete.'
"Well, that's all he wanted. He's been so professional. I think it helps to be raised in New England where you're just kind of taught you do your job and things kind of take care of themselves. Jimmy very much has that perspective, and I think it's served him well and served us well in this situation. He's handled it just as well as you possibly could."
Garoppolo remembers learning from Tom Brady in New England, despite his presence being a constant reminder that he was there to eventually replace Brady. Now, it will be Garoppolo's turn to mentor Lance, who has his own NFL aspirations.
The veteran quarterback will do what he can to help the rookie. But make no mistake, he plans to compete as best he can.
Garoppolo added: "The NFL is a crazy business. Things happen, but you've just got to attack it day-by-day and make the best of it."
You can listen to the conversation with Lynch below.
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