San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke with reporters for the first time since the draft. He stepped up to the podium after Tuesday's practice, the second of organized team activities. Of course, there was no shortage of reporters trying to pry quarterback information from the head coach, who did his best to limit his responses to such questions.
That's likely because Shanahan knows how big of an offseason storyline the quarterback situation has become. Most expect second-year quarterback Trey Lance to be the starter, replacing veteran Jimmy Garoppolo.
The 49ers hoped to trade Garoppolo by now, but the quarterback undergoing shoulder surgery on March 8 halted any trade talks. Shanahan has suggested that the 49ers would be willing to hold onto Garoppolo if they cannot trade him. Obviously, that is not Plan A.
"Nothing's changed since his surgery," Shanahan told reporters. "You know where we were at before that, and then he got surgery, so everything went on hold. I expect him, at some time, most likely, to be traded, but who knows? That's not a guarantee, and it's been on hold [since] that happened."
Shanahan and the 49ers expect Garoppolo to be medically cleared to throw again at the end of next month or early July. That's when trade discussions might heat up again, assuming the few remaining quarterback-needy teams haven't made moves by then to solidify their quarterback positions.
"When he's healthy, we'll see what happens," Shanahan added.
Garoppolo has been focused on his recovery from shoulder surgery and isn't with the team in Santa Clara. Tight end George Kittle revealed that he hasn't spoken to his quarterback of the past four-and-a-half seasons since the team cleaned out their lockers after the 2021 season.
"It's just Jimmy G," Kittle said. "He does his own thing in the offseason."
Kittle jokingly added: "He got me an iPhone, and then never called me back on it."
