All indications point to the San Francisco 49ers trading Jimmy Garoppolo in the coming weeks. It isn't easy to imagine the team holding onto its veteran quarterback and his over $25 million salary. Last offseason, the team traded away multiple first-round picks and a third-rounder to draft Garoppolo's successor, Trey Lance. Most expect the 21-year-old signal-caller to start Week 1 of the 2022 season.
Garoppolo will undergo shoulder surgery, sidelining him for much of the summer. He'll likely be able to resume throwing after 16 weeks. That complicates things, but reports state that teams remain interested in the quarterback with a 33-14 record as a starter.
"We're so fond of Jimmy, and that situation is active," general manager John Lynch told Good Morning Football's Peter Schrager in the early hours on Wednesday. "It's fluid. You're here, a lot of teams have interest in him. It's pretty obvious we put a lot into Trey Lance, and we're loving the development of Trey."
Lynch and the 49ers are seemingly keeping their options open, though. If trade interest isn't as high as they hoped or offers aren't to their liking, the general manager isn't closing the door on a potential Garoppolo return in 2022.
The interview took place from the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, where Lynch and his staff are evaluating the latest group of draft hopefuls. Because all 32 NFL teams are represented in some way at the annual event, it's also where teams often discuss trade deals.
Could we see a development in the 49ers' quarterback situation in the next couple of days?
"I don't know about activity in terms of things actually happening," Lynch shared, "but certainly there has been discussion, and I'm sure there will continue to be. We'll always listen to things. We've got a great situation there at the quarterback position in terms of our depth right now. But when you make that big of an investment in someone, you tend to want to use him. So, I think that's where we're at, and very grateful for everything that Jimmy's brought."
Then Lynch left the door cracked for Garoppolo possibly remaining with the 49ers, saying, "And if he's back with us, let's go at it again."
Don't mistake that for a lack of confidence in Lance. Lynch stated that the 49ers have been happy with the young quarterback's development, despite him only starting two games this past season and playing in just 178 snaps through six appearances.
Lance sat behind Garoppolo in 2021, working hard to improve during practices while leading the scout team. Schrager compared the Garoppolo-Lance situation to the Alex Smith-Patrick Mahomes development model in Kansas City, asking the 49ers general manager if they saw progress during practices.
"He definitely had his 'wow' moments," Lynch said. "You could see the development, the confidence. You're on scout team, oftentimes, you're asked, 'Hey, go ahead, throw this ball in there.' But then he would, and it would still get in there. I think he attacked it the right way.
"I keep talking about his mental capabilities. He can handle a lot, and I think he's just got that makeup that the great ones do. We only hope he can be Patrick Mahomes or anything close to that, and he's going to get his chance to go show that."