With the Deebo Samuel chatter simmering down after the San Francisco 49ers opted not to trade the receiver on Thursday night, we can shift the focus back to the quarterback situation. You know, the topic that dominated headlines before Samuel requested a trade.
Tony Pauline of Pro Football Network reports that the 49ers remain open to holding onto Jimmy Garoppolo despite making every effort to try to trade him. A March 8 shoulder surgery threw a wrench in those plans, and Garoppolo has remained on the 49ers roster much longer than most anticipated. No one was interested. Many felt the quarterback would have been traded by the start of the league's new year.
"Garoppolo is on track in his return from shoulder surgery," wrote Pauline. "The 49ers have even entertained holding onto him and, one league source emphasized, that is a sincere public statement from the NFC West franchise as they try to keep their options open while gauging Trey Lance's readiness to become the starter."
Most expect Lance to be the starter come Week 1. However, Garoppolo remaining on the roster might create an awkward situation and invite a training camp quarterback battle. The 49ers expect Garoppolo to start throwing again at the end of June.
"I think the progress is good," general manager John Lynch said this week. "So he's tracking kind of right where we said—throwing towards the end of June and ramping it up from there. So, that's where that's at."
Keeping Garoppolo would obviously be a backup plan. Ideally, they would like to receive reasonable compensation for their starter of the past four-and-a-half seasons. Unfortunately, with the quarterback still recovering from surgery, a trade is unlikely to occur during this draft. Although, it's not out of the question.
Picks in 2023 could be an option too. The Carolina Panthers didn't draft a quarterback yet and don't own a second- or third-round pick.
"It would likely cost a second-round draft pick to acquire Garoppolo, per a league source," Pauline added. "The 49ers may wait until training camp or even the regular season to move Garoppolo, hedging their bets, one source predicted."
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