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Last week, Jimmy Garoppolo said he would love to be part of a trade package that included wide receiver
Deebo Samuel. The idea of playing with the do-it-all wide receiver again isn't something he initially considered, knowing the San Francisco 49ers looked to trade the veteran quarterback this offseason.
"
I would do that in a heartbeat," Garoppolo said on the
Stacking The Box podcast.
What if the 49ers mend their relationship with Samuel, who recently requested a trade? What if San Francisco also holds onto Garoppolo, who has remained on the roster longer than most anticipated? In this hypothetical but possible scenario, the two could remain teammates for another season.
General manager John Lynch spoke with reporters on Monday and was asked if he could envision a scenario where Garoppolo remains on the roster.
"Absolutely," Lynch responded. "I said at the owner's meetings, guys like that don't fall out of trees. He's a good player at a position where they're hard to find. And so, you certainly don't just give guys like that away, and we can, I guess, foot the bill, if you want to describe it as that. And so, we'll be patient with that one."
Lynch was asked the same thing about Samuel. Does the general manager believe the two sides can come to terms and move forward together—at least for 2022?
"Of course," Lynch responded.
For now, Garoppolo and his hefty salary remain on the roster. Although, that hasn't necessarily been a roadblock in the 49ers' ability to sign Samuel to an extension. There appear to be other undisclosed factors at play in that situation. However, the overall perception is that Garoppolo's salary-cap hit has prevented the 49ers from having a more active offseason, and, as a result, their efforts to improve have been subpar.
The 49ers general manager does not subscribe to that line of thought.
"I think that's the noise that's out there," Lynch said. "We feel really good about our offseason. We took a hard look at our roster and said, 'Where do we need to be better?' And we think we've addressed those areas.
"I think a common theme was we wanted to be better, holistically, on special teams, but we never just want to have special teams players. We want guys that are fits into our offense or defense."
Lynch noted the additions of wide receiver and returner Ray-Ray McCloud, linebacker Oren Burks, safety
George Odum, and defensive lineman Kemoko Turay as examples. While none may be splashy names, the 49ers feel they will be able to contribute and improve the team as a whole.
San Francisco's biggest offseason addition was undoubtedly cornerback
Charvarius Ward. It was a position that needed another starter, so the 49ers paid big money for a player in whom they believed.
"Charvarius Ward, that was our number one goal to add a top-flight corner that can match up with the top receivers in this league. And man, I can't tell you how excited we are about Charvarius. ... I think a lot of people see that correlation between the money that Jimmy is due and that is somehow prohibiting us from doing what we wanted to do. That wasn't the case.
"We had a plan. We've been very aggressive—top five, top ten team in terms of cash. And we've had the pedal down for five years. It was time to probably, on the whole, take a step back in terms of the amount of cash and cap we were spending. And so that was planned all along. And still, I think despite those kinds of challenges we were able to have, what I believe, is a really productive offseason."
While Lynch believes "there's not a ton of holes" in the roster he has helped build, not everyone feels that way. The team could certainly use some depth at key spots, like the interior of the offensive line, the defensive backfield, and adding a pass rusher to pair with
Nick Bosa. Wide receiver becomes a significant need if the rift with Samuel remains. Those are areas that could be addressed in the draft.
Related News
Amidst swirling trade rumors surrounding Brandon Aiyuk, the speculation surrounding Deebo Samuel's future with the San Francisco 49ers seems to have quieted down.
According to Michael Silver of the San Francisco Chronicle, the 49ers have assured Samuel that he will not be involved in any pre- or post-draft transactions, ensuring his place on the roster for the time being.
"Samuel, who signed a three-year, $71.55 million extension before the 2022 season, has been assured by his bosses that he will not be dealt during or after the draft," Silver reported, citing a source familiar with the discussions.
Earlier in the
With the 2024 NFL Draft less than a week away, it's common for the rumor mill to start churning, especially with players who are actively seeking a new contract. It was just two short years ago that WR Deebo Samuel requested a trade from the San Francisco 49ers prior to draft day, only for cooler heads to prevail and eventually agree to a new deal.
Now, it's WR Brandon Aiyuk's turn to try and get paid and rumors surfaced over the weekend that he too would request to be dealt. While that report was quickly shot down by his agent, there's still a lot of discussion about Aiyuk's future and if other teams will come calling on draft night.
Legendary columnist Mike Silver joined
We are less than one week away from the NFL Draft, and the San Francisco 49ers have their first day-one draft pick since 2021. That was the year they selected QB Trey Lance number three overall. The trade-up to get Lance cost the 49ers their first-round picks in 2022 and 2023. And now that they are back in the first round, at pick 31, fans are anxious to see what the team does with the pick. And with former assistant GM, Adam Peters, now in Washington, it will be interesting to see how well the 49ers draft without Peters in the room.
We looked back at the seven drafts GM John Lynch and Head Coach Kyle Shanahan have led to see what information we could pull from those drafts. There were plenty of hits, plenty of misses, and a few surprises along the way. The draft picks are
Rumors have swirled regarding the situation between the San Francisco 49ers and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who is entering his fifth NFL season and is slated to earn $14.124 million on a team-executed fifth-year option. Despite the 49ers publicly declaring a desire to sign Aiyuk to a contract extension, keeping him on the roster for the foreseeable future, many rumors have focused on potential trade interest.
On Monday, general manager John Lynch held his annual pre-draft press conference, addressing the Aiyuk situation without revealing any information on the conversations that have taken place behind closed doors. Once again, he emphasized that the 49ers want Aiyuk to remain with the team for the remainder of his career.
When asked if there was a chance Aiyuk
