Jimmy Garoppolo is staying put in San Francisco, and it’s not clear yet how much of an indictment that is of Trey Lance.
Now, if Garoppolo is under center for the Niners in Week 1, that would certainly raise some antennas.
It’s been a crazy offseason in the quarterback market, and Garoppolo staying with the 49ers is among the more surprising moves of the offseason. The organization made it clear the plan was to get rid of him, but instead he stayed by signing a one-year extension this week.
Maybe the 49ers just like the idea of having Garoppolo as the backup instead of leaning on Nate Sudfeld. The 49ers have made clear that the QB1 gig is Lance’s, but appearing on 670 The Score’s “Mully and Haugh” on Tuesday, ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio kicked around the idea of Garoppolo starting in Week 1.
“Hey, I still think there’s a chance – and I don’t want to overstate this, but I said it during PFT Live today – and it’s a small chance, but crazier things can happen, crazier things have happened," Florio said. "The fact that Garoppolo is staying with the 49ers is one of those crazy things that you didn’t anticipate. I still think there’s a chance that when Week 1 rolls around he’s the starting quarterback.
“Again, I think it’s a small chance, but listen, we all know what’s going to happen the next two weeks. He’s going to walk into the locker room today and be welcomed back by guys who love him. Can you imagine how awkward that’s going to be for Trey Lance? What happens on the practice field, what happens if Trey Lance doesn’t react to this well?
“What happens if Kyle Shanahan eventually throws his hands in the air and says ‘I can’t trust this guy to run my offense Week 1. We’ve got a Super Bowl ready team here, and I’m not ready to give him the opportunity to drive this car into a tree. We’re just going to give him a second redshirt year.’ It’s not like they’re going to get rid of him … but I think that there’s a good chance we’re going to see him at some point. And it all comes down to how Trey Lance deals with it.”
How things unfold between now and the 49ers’ opener against the Bears will be fascinating to watch. We’ve seen big surprises from San Francisco already, but Garoppolo starting Week 1 would be taking the craziness to a new level.
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