On Monday, San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan sat with The Athletic's Tim Kawakami on The TK Show, and provided updates on the Jimmy Garoppolo situation as training camp inches closer and closer.
The 49ers report to training camp on Tuesday for their physicals and Shanahan expects quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to be present, although he noted that he hasn't seen the veteran all offseason.
"I haven't seen Jimmy since the season ended. I know he's gotten cleared by his doctor. He's gotta go through some things and be in a throwing program to where he can ease back into like all guys do after shoulder injury," Shanahan said. "But, tomorrow's probably going to be the first time that I [will] have gotten to see him so I can't wait to catch up on stuff. He'll most likely do his physical and everything like that. And then we'll play it from there."
Shanahan said that his relationship with Garoppolo has been great, and that both sides understand the business element of football, which is why he believes that both sides will be in a good spot when the situation is resolved.
"We've got a great relationship with Jimmy. I don't think this is bad in any way. I think Jimmy understands what happened over the last couple of years. We understand. This is the business part of the league. Whether it's tomorrow, whether it's a couple weeks from now, whether it's right before Week 1, I think our team will be in a good spot and I think Jimmy will be in a good spot most likely somewhere else."
When discussing the possibility of Garoppolo potentially practicing in training camp, Shanahan doesn't envision that possibility as of now.
"I think anything's possible, but that would surprise me right now," Shanahan told Kawakami.
When asked about last season whether Shanahan would get Trey Lance in because of Garoppolo's injury, Shanahan admitted that was definitely a thought.
"There definitely was [thoughts about getting Trey Lance in when Garoppolo was injured]. That's why we had to look into Jimmy at practice to see if he was capable of doing it. That's what was so amazing with Jimmy in those times that when it first happened, we weren't sure if he was going to be able to play. Then, you'd hear about it on a Monday or Tuesday and I'd have a lot of different ideas, like alright, we're probably going to have to go a different direction," Shanahan said.
However, Garoppolo played well enough during practice sessions later in the week to provide confidence in his throwing ability to keep him as the starter as the season progressed.
"He'd do his rehab, he'd get his tape jobs done, and you'd watch that guy go out there, and I know he had a thumb issue, but [Garoppolo] threw it as good as anybody I'd ever seen, whether it's practice and going in those games. I thought he'd made a lot of good plays over that [period of time]," Shanahan said. "The shoulder injury [became a concern later in the week after the Dallas game], but by the time we got to Green Bay, and the way he'd look in practice earlier in that week, it wasn't [a concern].
But, if Garoppolo couldn't prove himself to throw well, the 49ers would've gone in another direction for the week. That situation just didn't unfold last season.
"But, no, if Jimmy wouldn't have been able to throw very well, whether it was Trey as the backup or someone else, we would've gone with that, and he couldn't on Monday and Tuesday. But, by the time we got to Friday, he threw the ball great and people saw it in games too, throwing wasn't an issue."
Garoppolo has reportedly fielded interest from five teams according to Atlanta Falcons reporter Cam Marino: the Dolphins, Seahawks, Falcons, Lions, and Texans.
Five teams have inquired about #49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo, per @MarinoNFL:
The #Texans, #Seahawks, #Lions, #Falcons, and #Dolphins.#49wz
— Rohan Chakravarthi (@RohanChakrav) July 21, 2022
