Jimmy G’s time in Santa Clara is up. At least that’s what it sounds like.
During his season wrap-up with reporters Tuesday, 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo certainly sounded like a man on the move.
Garoppolo is expected to get traded this offseason as the franchise hands the starting quarterback job over to Trey Lance, who they moved up to select No. 3 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. As he wrapped up his media session Tuesday, Garoppolo gave a shoutout to 49ers fans.
“Faithful, thank you very much for everything,” Garoppolo said. “It’s been crazy, man. All the comebacks at Levi’s, comebacks on the road, ups and downs. It’s been a hell of a ride guys. I love you guys.”
Looking ahead, Garoppolo said he hopes he gets to play on another contender. Here’s a list of five possible destinations for Jimmy G next season.
“We’ve talked a little bit,” Garoppolo said of his relationship with the 49ers front office. “I think more will happen in the days that come. These guys have been very up front about the whole thing. I was talking [general manager] John [Lynch] yesterday about trying to find the right destination and whatever the future holds, just doing it the right way.
“Got a long career ahead of me. I’m excited about it. I’m excited about the opportunities to come. I just wanna go to a place where they wanna win. That’s really what I’m in this game for.”
Ever since the 49ers made the trade with the Miami Dolphins last March to move up nine spots in the quarterback-heavy draft, the writing was on the wall. When the 49ers were 3-5 this past season, Shanahan admitted they were close to a “breaking point”, which would have put Lance in at quarterback to develop. But the 49ers stayed with Jimmy G.
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Garoppolo has commended Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan for their honesty throughout the whole process. Since last March, Garoppolo knew his 49ers tenure would be finite and probably ending soon.
“When things happened in the offseason, we made the trade and everything to pick Trey, it kind of made things clear for me,” Garoppolo said. “It gave me a clear course of what I wanted to do and what I wanted to accomplish this year. It honestly made things simpler in some ways, because it took the weight off my shoulders. Now it’s just go play football and enjoy this last year with the guys and create as many relationships as I could. That’s really what I tried to do this year and I Thought it worked really well.”
At 30 years old with two NFC title runs and a Super Bowl appearance the past three seasons, Garoppolo figures to command a solid trade return. Peter King even thinks the 49ers could possibly recoup a first-round pick.
“We’ve done right by each other throughout this whole relationship,” Garoppolo said. “We’ll work it out one way or another. I don’t know how exactly that will work, but I think both sides will be happy in the end.”
After his 35-16 record in four-plus years with the 49ers, in all likelihood the Jimmy G era is finally over.
