Last season, the language in Jimmy Garoppolo's contract handcuffed the San Francisco 49ers. The no-trade clause prevented them from moving the quarterback without his consent. The team insisted that it wanted to hold onto Garoppolo but flirted with nearly every available quarterback that offseason and drafted Garoppolo's eventual successor, Trey Lance.
Sunday's 20-17 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game felt like the end of Garoppolo's time with the 49ers, despite one more year remaining on his contract. This offseason is different, though. This offseason, there is no no-trade clause, something known for a long time but reiterated by NBC Sports Bay Area on Monday.
"Under terms of the contract, beginning on March 16 at 1 p.m. (PT), the 49ers can trade Garoppolo to any team without his prior written approval," reported Matt Maiocco. "An agreement of a trade can be reached prior to that date."
The 49ers are expected to transition from Garoppolo to Lance this offseason. What that means for Garoppolo remains unclear. He doesn't yet know where he will end up, but he'll likely have to get to know a new locker room this offseason.
"I love Jimmy," Shanahan said after the game via Kirk Larrabee. "I'm not going to sit here and make a farewell statement or anything right now. That's the last stuff on my mind. But Jimmy has battled his ass off. He battled today. He did some unbelievable things today, and I love coaching Jimmy."
The future looked bright when the 49ers pulled off a mid-season trade for Garoppolo in 2017. The quarterback won his five starts to close out the season. He went on to finish with a 31-14 record (35-16, including the playoffs) with San Francisco.
The real question becomes what the 49ers can acquire in exchange for Garoppolo, who was plagued by injuries and never lived up to the lofty expectations created in 2017,
Garoppolo, still dealing with the emotions of Sunday's heartbreaking loss, didn't want to speculate on his future.
"We'll see what happens in these next couple of days, weeks, whatever, but I love this team," Garoppolo said after the game. "The fight and the battle in this team throughout the entire year has been really impressive, and I love those guys."