Fans continue to wait for a resolution to one of the biggest San Francisco 49ers storylines of the offseason. What will happen with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo? Will a trade partner suddenly emerge at the last minute? Or will the Niners release the quarterback, freeing up his hefty salary-cap hit?
ESPN's Adam Schefter argues that a third option still remains, and it's one that the 49ers have said all offseason was a possibility, even if no one believed it.
"The 49ers are going to have to decide whether or not they are willing to keep -- yes, keep -- Jimmy Garoppolo," Schefter said on ESPN's NFL Live before Thursday's preseason game between the 49ers and Houston Texans, per NBC Sports Bay Area. "And Jimmy Garoppolo is going to have to decide whether he's willing to restructure his contract and stay in San Francisco, or whether he wants to move on and become a free agent. Both sides are going to have a say in how this works out. It might just be that the best scenario is for both sides to work together to stay together for this year, so that the 49ers can have a capable No. 2 quarterback backing up Trey Lance."
Last week, 49ers CEO Jed York insisted that keeping Garoppolo isn't out of the realm of possibilities.
"We're happy to keep Jimmy," York said after noting that you can never have too many good quarterbacks. "We're happy to have him on the roster. And if that's the case, then that's the case."
Garoppolo remaining in the locker room, backing up his one-time protégé, might be awkward. However, given how well Garoppolo handled last season, looking over his shoulder to see his soon-to-be successor, and even befriending Lance in the process, might make the situation possible.
Plus, having Garoppolo, a quarterback with playoff experience, as an insurance policy should something happen to Lance would be a bonus. The reality, though, is that everyone knows Lance is QB1.
"No. 1, the team knows it is Trey Lance's team," Schefter continued. "If you keep Jimmy Garoppolo, everyone knows it is as a No. 2 quarterback. It gives the 49ers the depth behind basically a rookie quarterback, and it gives Jimmy Garoppolo maybe his best option if, again, both sides agree to do that."
There is also the concern that the Seahawks could sign Garoppolo should the 49ers release him. That is a scenario San Francisco would likely love to avoid. NFL teams must cut their roster down to 53 players by Tuesday, August 30.
"So my guess is that he's released on August 30th, and probably the next day, he's signing with some team," NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco recently stated. "And I know around the 49ers, that they think he's going to be ending up in Seattle."
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