San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan steered conversation about Jimmy Garoppolo’s future down a dark turn earlier this week when he said, “I can’t guarantee anybody in the world will be alive by Sunday.”
The darkness of Shanahan’s quote went viral, but tight end George Kittle thoroughly enjoyed his coach’s comment.
Kittle, who responded to a clip tweeted by SportsCenter that he will call Shanahan on Sunday to let him know he’s alive, told Yahoo! Sports’ “The Rush” that he did not think the quote was as dark as everyone is making it out to be.
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“I’ve heard that quote once or twice in my career with coach Shanahan, in different contexts,” Kittle said. “When he gets asked a silly question, like, ‘can you guarantee this person’s your starting quarterback?’ Like, that’s a silly question. I mean, there’s a lot of questions up in the air obviously and so I think he was just having some fun with the conversation.
“I wouldn’t say it was too dark. I think it’s pretty realistic. At the same time, I think it’s absolutely hilarious. I love the quote. I love that.”
Kittle, coincidentally, has been a staunch Garoppolo defender. The tight end once again backed up the 29-year-old on FanSided’s Stacking the Box podcast this week, pointing to how Garoppolo was the guy that led the Niners to a Super Bowl appearance two years ago.
“We went to the Super Bowl with Jimmy, we win a lot of games with Jimmy,” Kittle said. “When he’s not playing, we don’t win a lot of games. So I think his record kind of speaks for itself, no matter what stats are and whatever his percentages are, we win games when he’s in the game.”
Yet, the Niners are likely going to draft one of Mac Jones, Trey Lance or Justin Fields with the No. 3 pick, which is why Shanahan has been asked about Garoppolo’s future.
Kittle said that is just part of the game.
“Jimmy is going to compete with [the draft pick] and that just is what it is,” he added. “Football is a competitive sport. And you got to win your job every single day. And I’m just looking forward to that competition.
"Now, Jimmy, whether he’s our quarterback, I hope he is because I think he’s a hell of a quarterback. I think he’s a hell of a football player. He’s gonna be the reason we win games."
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