If any doubts remained about the 49ers’ plans for quarterback, general manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan extinguished them on Tuesday during their pre-training camp press conference.
“This is Trey’s team,” Shanahan said. “This is nothing against Jimmy. We made that decision a year ago and we’re going with that."
The 49ers reported for training camp in Santa Clara Tuesday and made it known that the Trey Lance era is officially starting, while Jimmy Garoppolo is on his way out the door. Jimmy G reported to the team’s facilities Tuesday morning but wasn’t scheduled to have his physical until the afternoon.
“We had a good meeting with Jimmy this morning, Kyle and myself,” Lynch said. “We had a really good discussion. The good news is he’s feeling great and doing a nice job with his throwing program, the ramp-up part of that. That’s exciting to hear.”
The writing has been on the wall since 2021, when the 49ers used three first-round picks and a third-round selection to move up to No. 3 overall in the draft to get Lance. The 22-year-old has only played six meaningful quarters of action, but the team is his this fall.
The 49ers are still holding out hope they can trade Garoppolo, though his list of possible suitors is short, including the Cleveland Browns, Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons. Once he clears a physical, Garoppolo will be available for trade and the 49ers hope to find a resolution quickly.
“Everyone doesn’t like to be in a holding pattern,” Shanahan said. “We don’t, he doesn’t. As soon as we can. If that involves another team and it working out, somewhere where Jimmy wants to go, hopefully with everyone being on the same page and being open on all the dialogue, the same with all the other teams, hopefully that will happen sooner than later. I think that’d be good for him and good for us.”
It sounds like the 49ers aren’t planning on releasing Garoppolo, which could save $25.5 million from the salary cap.
“I think it made it lot harder with the surgery and I think everyone knows that’s why we’re in the situation we’re in,” Shanahan said. “We understand that. We’re not trying to kid ourselves or play any games, I think the whole league understands that. We also can’t just give one of the better quarterbacks in the league – just make him available for no reason to the whole world. The good thing is you can have those conversations with Jimmy and he understands that too. We’re gonna try to do the best for both sides.”
The 49ers don’t expect to place Garoppolo from the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, which would bar him from practicing with the team but still allow him to use the facility. But it sounds like Garoppolo will be doing work on the side as he continues to recover from March 8 shoulder surgery.
“He’s cleared to practice,” Shanahan said. “But he does have a throwing program like all guys do when they get over a shoulder injury. Anything with your arm, there’s a protocol in how you build them up so they don’t re-aggravate that. He’ll be doing that on the side and things, but we don’t plan on practicing him with the team.”
That line of thinking makes sense for the 49ers. No point in having Garoppolo in your huddles and learning the playbook if he’ll be suiting up for another team this fall.
Garoppolo has been a true professional for the past 17 months as we headed to this juncture and got some more praise from Shanahan for the way he handled the situation. The 49ers said that Garoppolo has never asked for his release over the past few months.
“It was great to talk to him today,” Shanahan said. “It’s always easier when you talk to the person. He got to talk to both of us. It was just the three of us, we caught up on a lot of stuff. I think all three of us are on the same page. Jimmy understands where we’re at, we understand where we’re at. I can’t tell you how appreciative I have been of Jimmy, him being here and appreciative of what he did for us last year. Jimmy knew what we did the year before. Jimmy did a hell of a job coming into camp, winning that job and taking us real close to the Super Bowl. But we have moved on to Trey. We’re starting camp out this way. We think Jimmy would have been traded if the surgery didn’t happen. It did, he needed to do it. So there’s no woe there at all. But it’s good to see that he is healthy.”
The 49ers made the NFC Championship last year. Lance is expected to take some lumps, but Shanahan thinks his supporting cast should make it easier.
“Feel as good about our roster as I have,” Shanahan said. “I love our team right now. ... I think our team is in a great spot to turn it over to a quarterback who hasn’t played before."
