Why 49ers’ Jimmy Garoppolo is ‘hard to get rid of’ even with rookie quarterback aboard
The 49ers haven’t ghosted Jimmy Garoppolo, or vice versa.
Rather, Garoppolo is taking part in their offseason program and, more pertinent, remains in coach Kyle Shanahan’s post-draft plans even after Thursday night’s selection of the quarterback to be named with the No. 3 pick.
“The biggest thing with Jimmy is injuries (2018 knee, 2020 ankle) and it’s been very tough when he’s hurt,” Shanahan said Monday. “Jimmy knows that. I’ve been very upfront with him. We’ve been Zooming these last two weeks. I’m excited to get him in here, especially when this draft is over.”
In other words, when the 49ers’ offseason program moves onto field drills May 17, Garoppolo is expected on those Santa Clara training grounds in his No. 10 jersey.
By retaining Garoppolo, the 49ers can avoid rushing the development of a rookie quarterback — whether it’s Alabama’s Mac Jones, Ohio State’s Justin Fields, or North Dakota State’s Trey Lance. Lance, presumably, would be the one in need of the most time, given that he played only one game last season and was in a small-school league.
“I feel very fortunate, taking a rookie quarterback, that we do have a guy like Jimmy,” Shanahan said. “We have a guy who every time he’s been a starter, he’s played at a high level.”
Garoppolo, 29, has won 22 of his 30 starts with the 49ers — he’s 24-8 for his NFL career — and led them to the Super Bowl in his only full season.
“So to have that with Jimmy while adding a rookie quarterback, it gives us a lot of leeway,” Shanahan added. “I’m not going to set anything in stone, but I know that’s a situation that would be hard to get rid of.
“When you take a rookie quarterback and you have a veteran like Jimmy who we know we can win with, just to move on from that, that is not easy to do. That’s a good situation for us and will be important for us this year.”
The current backups are Nate Sudfeld, Josh Rosen and Josh Johnson. Sudfeld, signed three weeks ago, has no starts and just 37 pass attempts since 2017 with the Philadelphia Eagles. Rosen and Johnson are a combined 4-20 as starters in their journeyman careers.
It is believed that the 49ers would not trade Garoppolo for anything lower than a first-round draft pick, which was his value a year ago before high-ankle sprains limited him to six starts in 2020. Garoppolo has two years remaining on a contract paying him roughly $25 million annually, including a $600,000 offseason workout bonus this year.
Garoppolo hasn’t been made available for comment since Jan. 4, a day after the 2020 season ended, and his social media accounts have been dormant.
“Jimmy’s been a pro,” general manager John Lynch said. “I just spoke to him over the weekend. He’s here, taking part in virtual meetings, planning to be out the workouts. He’s been professional, as he’s always been.”
So, will Garoppolo be on the roster Sunday?
Shanahan took that question.
“I can’t guarantee that anybody will be alive Sunday,” he said, “so I can’t guarantee who will be on our roster on Sunday. So that goes for all of us.”
And with that, tight end George Kittle took to Twitter, sending a message to Shahanan: “I’ll call you Sunday to let you know I’m alive coach.”
I’ll call you on Sunday to let you know I’m alive coach
— George Kittle (@gkittle46) April 26, 2021