“It’s like he’s a different player”: 49ers impressed with Jimmy Garoppolo this offseason

Yesterday, Michael Silver of NFL Media shared quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo's response to potentially being pulled off the field for situational packages designed exclusively for rookie Trey Lance. Garoppolo said all the right things, as you would expect, but also noted that he's never had to deal with a situation like that. After all, the only time he's stepped off the field in the last three seasons was due to injuries.

"I mean, if it could help the offense, help the team, I think that would be a good thing," Garoppolo told Silver. "I think when you get into that two-quarterback system, it gets tough at times, but we'll see when we get there."

Today, Silver shared head coach Kyle Shanahan's response to the same question.

"If [Lance] can help us, wherever that's at, I mean we're gonna do that," Shanahan said. "Hopefully, he's ready to help us, and depending on who we're going against, situationally or whatever it is, we'll never hesitate to do anything that helps."


Garoppolo is doing everything in his power to delay the transition to his eventual successor. The veteran quarterback has reportedly had one of his best offseasons under Shanahan. At least, that is the narrative coming out of Santa Clara. Players and coaches have praised Garoppolo's play during practices.

"It's like he's a different player," one source told Silver.


Shanahan has certainly been pleased with his likely Week 1 starter, confirming everything Silver has heard from others.

"What you heard is accurate," Shanahan said. "You're away from guys until you're allowed to see them, and then he came to OTAs, and you always want to see how he's gonna respond, and he was just as focused and locked in as I've seen. That's how he was just hanging around in the meetings and everything, and then it carried over to the field and lasted throughout OTAs, and I've felt the first thing here in this first week of training camp."


As for the potential awkwardness of finding out that your team is drafting your eventual replacement, Shanahan said in the past that Garoppolo was disappointed. However, the quarterback dealt with the situation professionally and pushed forward, as he always does, to prove himself.

"I've known Jimmy for awhile," Shanahan shared. "I also know what that deal is for anyone. I know no one's happy about it, and it was a hard thing to tell him. But I also expected him to respond well, and he has. Jimmy's a great guy. He does everything the right way. And you hope something like that's gonna make a guy better or worse, and I think it's made him better so far."