Steve Young has used the term "fired" when describing how the San Francisco 49ers treated Jimmy Garoppolo this offseason. By that, the Hall of Fame quarterback meant that the team had no intention of bringing the quarterback back. Instead, Trey Lance had replaced him.
Garoppolo stuck on the roster throughout the offseason, though. The 49ers couldn't trade him after the quarterback underwent shoulder surgery. There had been rumors of some resentment between player and team. However, Garoppolo admits that once he was forced on the field after Lance's season-ending injury, there wasn't time to think about anything other than playing football.
General manager John Lynch respects Young but doesn't necessarily like the use of the term "fired" when describing the offseason situation with Garoppolo.
"We did make a decision to go make a bold move for a young quarterback," Lynch said on KNBR's Murph & Mac show. "I think, at the end of the day, what served us well, and what served Jimmy well, is that we were always honest with each other. I think the relationship had good roots because it was always based on telling each other the truth. And as things progressed, we kept doing that.
"... While there might be resentment at times, first of all, Jimmy's [not only] handling it well now. He's handled it well throughout. Again, I've talked [about it] so many times, but my admiration for him, the way he handled the situation last year with Trey in the room, and how good he's been to Trey, I think it speaks volumes for who he is."
Unable to find a trade partner this offseason, the 49ers opted to bring Garoppolo back on a restructured one-year deal. Many questioned the move, but in hindsight, it may have saved San Francisco's season. The Garoppolo storyline shifted from "Why can't the 49ers get rid of him?" to "Thank goodness the 49ers kept him around."
Garoppolo was in Santa Clara when the 49ers started training camp. He wasn't practicing with his teammates, though, since the team still hoped to trade the quarterback. Garoppolo wasn't even involved in team meetings and didn't have a playbook.
If it had been up to Garoppolo, he wouldn't have been in Santa Clara at all during his recovery.
"I would have stayed down in L.A. because I was in a good spot in rehab," Garoppolo said last week. "We had a good thing going, things like that. They wanted me up here. The side field was my best friend during training camp."
Garoppolo did as requested, not knowing how the situation would eventually unfold. Now, he is the starter for the remainder of the 2022 season.
"Tough situation. I get it," Lynch said. "Showed up at camp, did his work. He's always done that too. He always goes about his work. He got himself prepared to play for us or whoever it was going to be. It was incredible. You just kind of threw him in there, and on day one, he looked pretty darn good. Jimmy's got that ability to go do that, and he's playing at a really high level.
"Last week was an interesting game in that we were in a lot of third-and-longs, and Jimmy just converted at a really high level. He's really in sync with all of his guys right now. He's playing very poised football, and he's leading this football team. And we're happy to have him. I can't say enough great things about Jimmy Garoppolo."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Lynch below.