The general feeling outside of the San Francisco 49ers organization after the team fell to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship game was one of finality regarding the status of starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, but those inside the organization say they're not ready to make that call until considering all their options.
Garoppolo's future with the 49ers has been in doubt since the team decided to trade three first-round draft picks last offseason in order to move up in the 2021 NFL Draft to select quarterback Trey Lance. There was some assumption after the selection of Lance that the 49ers would put him in the starting spot sooner rather than later, but they chose instead to keep Garoppolo despite his sizeable salary and have him hold down the starting spot while Lance developed on the sidelines. Garoppolo remained as the 49ers' starter throughout the season, leading the team to a playoff berth and a spot in the NFC Championship game along the way, but now the general assumption among many on the outside is the team will eventually attempt to trade Garoppolo and turn the offense over to Lance.
But 49ers general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan say the team has yet to come to a decision. Lynch and Shanahan held their year-end press conference with reporters on Tuesday and fielded a number of questions on Garoppolo, saying they've been focused on the season to this point and now will take time to go through their options.
"Kyle and I, there's always ongoing conversations, but Kyle's got a job to lead a team during the season," Lynch said. "So it's hard to really wrap your arms around big decisions until we have those opportunities. So now, that starts, and the way the league year is structured and stuff, there is some time. Obviously that will start in earnest right away, and it's not like we've been pushing it aside."
Lynch and Shanahan have already spoken with Garoppolo about his future and didn't give him any commitments either way other than to pledge to him that they would keep him informed about what they decide.
"I think we're all creatures of habit and no one wants to face the reality that this thing may be ending," Lynch said. "So you kind of put things like that off after a season. And man, this was a ride that had so many different turns in it. I think it was special just to be able to sit down with Jimmy and let him know how appreciative we are as an organization of the way he handled everything, the way he played, the toughness that he exhibited, and just to express my admiration for him and the way he handled everything this season and during his time with us. The commitment was just we're going to communicate as we always have, and we're going to be completely up front and honest, and that Kyle and I, right now, it's evaluation stage. While we talk all the time, again, the season just ended. We've got a lot to think about with our team in general and certainly at that position. The commitment was just that everything we do will be communicated in a very straightforward manner as I think we've always done with him."
Could the 49ers actually decide to keep Garoppolo? It may be a long shot, but Shanahan indicated every possibility remains an option and that they have an owner in Jed York who will be open-minded about what they decide. Shanahan also says there's no rush to make a choice, in part because Garoppolo's contract doesn't have any imminent guarantees that will push them to make a quick move.
"The way Jimmy played and the way our owner is, the way Jimmy's contract is - it's not like there's a big guarantee next week," Shanahan said. "And we don't have an owner who from what he just said is going to just say, 'Hey, no, you've got to do this because of A, B, and C.' It's pretty simple with Jed. He wants to do whatever's best for this team. And when you quarterback who played how Jimmy did, you have a young guy waiting to eventually get an opportunity, there's a lot of good options there. And that's why all cards are on the table. It's cool that we're in a place where all cards can be on the table, because usually they're not in that situation. That's why we're going to make sure to try to make the best decision for this team, which is always still an educated guess because you see the results after it happens. But we're not going to be in any rush to that because we want to make sure to get it right."
As for Garoppolo, he spoke with reporters on Tuesday as well and seemed to have already thought ahead to possible trade scenarios, saying he hopes to land somewhere that wanted to win. But he too remained open-minded, even though he hopes things move fast.
"I'll never close every door completely," Garoppolo said. "I think there's a possibility of anything. We need to have those conversations here in the next couple days, next couple weeks, and really get the ball rolling on that."
There's no set timetable for that ball to get rolling, although it'll probably start soon enough with free agency and plenty of player movement set to happen in the weeks ahead. The season the 49ers had in 2021 made the decision more difficult, but after taking some time to think, they'll likely come to a conclusion in the near future.
"If we knew exactly what was happening, we would have told Jimmy," Shanahan said. "But this season just ended. We've got a great young quarterback who was a rookie and we have a great quarterback here who's a veteran. We've had Jimmy here for five years and he's got to play in two of those seasons fully. Before this year it was only one out of four years, and that was our big worry going into it that we could not go into another year where he didn't make it through. He only missed (two games) this year, and in the two years he's played, he's taken us to the Super Bowl and he's taken us really close in the NFC Championship game. So I've got the ultimate respect for Jimmy, and I'm very excited about Trey. And that's where we're at right now.
"Jimmy's made it a lot harder because he stayed healthy and he played like he is capable of playing, which is to me one of the better quarterbacks in this league. So we're in a tough situation—or not a tough situation, you're in a situation where you've got to make some tough decisions. That won't be easy, but I'm happy about that. That means you've got the best scenario going, and that's why we've got to put a lot of thought into this and John and I talking to Jed and everything. Jimmy will know as we go."