San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan was asked about the future of the team's quarterback position. Jimmy Garoppolo is the starter right now. His eventual successor is rookie Trey Lance. That plan has not changed. The timing of the transition, however, is uncertain.
Garoppolo has played well over this recent four-game stretch. San Francisco has won three of its last four, and the quarterback owns the league's best passer rating (113.2) during that span. If Garoppolo leads the 49ers into the playoffs, the team might not be eager to part ways with the veteran.
Shanahan was asked if the Garoppolo to Lance transition could be delayed, given the former's recent success. Might the 49ers hold onto Garoppolo for the 2022 season?
"I think there's a chance for anything," Shanahan responded. "But I think we've made it pretty clear that Trey's our guy of the future, whenever that will happen. But it's also nothing against Jimmy that we [drafted] him.
"We believe Trey will be our guy of the future, and like I said, I think it will be really hard, if Jimmy's on it, for [Lance] to beat him out right away. So, it's kind of going like that right now, and I'm not thinking much past that."
Despite the writing being on the wall, Garoppolo also isn't dismissing the possibility of returning in 2022. Although, the quarterback admits he has more pressing things on his mind right now.
"Honestly, with the possibilities, I try not to close any doors too early," Garoppolo said on Wednesday. "It's one of those situations, you've just got to let it play out, I think. We've got a lot going on with the season and everything right now. If you start thinking about those other things, you just get distracted, I think. But when we cross that bridge, we'll assess everything then."
During a Wednesday-morning KNBR interview, general manager John Lynch was also asked about the quarterback transition plan.
"I continue to say it. We're thrilled about Trey and his development," Lynch responded. "We had a plan that we were going to play the guy who gave us the best chance. Right now, we think that's Jimmy. Trey's getting better every week, and he's going to be tremendous for us. But Jimmy's playing great football, and we're winning football games and playing like we felt like we should have this entire year.
"We've got a huge challenge this week with Minnesota. They're very good defensively. So Jimmy, and our entire team, has a huge challenge."