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The chances the 49ers were going to make a change at quarterback were already slim. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said the team would look to upgrade, but the available clear upgrades have dwindled. General manager John Lynch in his end-of-season press conference echoed Shanahan’s sentiments about the team’s future under center, and did so again on the Full Press Coverage podcast.
When asked if Lynch had any doubt about Jimmy Garoppolo starting for the 49ers to begin the regular season, the GM gave a direct answer.
“No, not at all. I really believe that,” Lynch said. “Just look at the numbers. I mean, he’s 24-9, 25-9 when he’s played”
The next part of Lynch’s answer lent credibility to the idea the club needs a better contingency plan in the event Garoppolo is unavailable though. While he’s been a consistent winner as a starter, his inability to stay on the field has been a significant roadblock for the 49ers’ chances since they traded for him in 2017.
“Being available’s a big part of this thing,” Lynch said. “So like I said, we probably as a stated goal – we have to insulate ourself better and we gotta have better options if he’s not there.”
The 49ers the last three years had Nick Mullens and CJ Beathard as the two backups for Garoppolo. They’re now both set for free agency, pushing the door wide open for San Francisco to improve their quarterback depth.
However, Lynch isn’t giving up entirely on the idea of Garoppolo staying healthier moving forward.
“I’ve watched people go through this in a career where they struggle,” Lynch said. “It happened to me early, and then I went eight years without missing a practice. So, I believe that things can happen. I believe they will for him. I really believe Jimmy is our guy.”
The belief in Garoppolo isn’t a new revelation for Lynch following other quarterback movement. Here’s what Lynch said in January at his end-of-season press conference about Garoppolo:
“As for the quarterback position, Kyle and I both have spoken and spoken fairly directly as to the fact that we expect Jimmy to be our quarterback and that’s consistently met with other stories.”
San Francisco, while consistently put into hypothetical media-driven trade rumors, has never made any significant overtures toward other quarterbacks. Shanahan and Lynch internally discussed pursuing Tom Brady last offseason, but decided to stick with Garoppolo. They were also involved early in Matthew Stafford trade talks, but never made a formal offer and didn’t discuss it beyond preliminary talks when a first-round pick became the price.
If the 49ers were truly out on Garoppolo, they would’ve pushed harder to get a player in to replace him right away, but their actions back up Lynch’s most recent comments.
On the other hand, a lack of movement on Garoppolo’s contract which gives San Francisco a cheap out if they elect to trade or cut the quarterback is worth keeping an eye on for the long-term. Lynch’s belief in Garoppolo looks and sounds sincere in the scope of the team’s starter in 2021. There’s a chance the player they use to insulate themselves against Garoppolo’s lack of availability is they player they ultimately use to replace him.
For now though, Garoppolo is the 49ers’ quarterback, and he’ll get at least one more chance to make the sentiment ring true beyond the 2021 season.
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