Who might that lucky team be? Between the draft, free agency, and trade options, the 49ers might find themselves in a position to want to reconsider. Jimmy Garoppolo? But those two players arent exactly cheaper options, and the SF 49ers have plenty of their own salary-cap restraints for 2021. Round 1: Kiper | McShay | NFL Nation Without the quarterback in the lineup, San Francisco is 7-26. General manager John Lynch hit the right notes Tuesday while addressing Brock Purdys status at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. Jimmy, you can win with. The content and information from other sites is the property of their respective owners. That's a lot of quarterback-related intrigue! Growing up a 49ers fan, the longtime Patriots star was alsobriefly on Lynch's radar in 2020, when Brady tested free agency and ultimately landed with the Buccaneers. No. As the 2020 regular NFL season comes to an end more speculation on whether or not the 49ers are going to keep Jimmy Garoppolo heats up. It will be interesting to see which way the Niners go, but until then, we can continue to speculate and hope its the best option in the end. Sure. There is no argument that Garoppolo has an impressive win-loss record. We have a team thats ready to go now, Lynch told reporters. Start a rebuild? In fact, last season they were offered a chance at taking future Hall of Fame QB Tom Brady, but they decided against it, most likely because Jimmy G. has a lot more left in him than Brady who is en route to retirement. With the . Now instead of splitting reps with Purdy in some sort of pseudo-competition, Lance gets to run the show on his own. Finally we have Jimmy Garoppolo, the reliable, oft-criticized hand who might give this team the best chance to win right now. Lance and Purdy are on cheap rookie deals. NAME GP REC W% CMP ATT PCT YDS . Who is the all-time NFL passing leader? I expected Lynch to be gushing about Lance, considering the fact that Lance will likely be the starter in week one, but instead, he said, "I think his biggest thing, we just have to find a way and I've had a lot of conversations with Trey, early in my career, I struggled to stay healthy and then I hit an eight-year stretch where I didn't miss a snap, so sometimes you just have to go through that, the rough patches and he has to play. Getty "He was a teammate for about three weeks at one point (in 2008), so I sent him a text, just (saying) congratulations on one of the greatest careers that I've ever seen in any sport, and I wished him the best. He graduated from San Jose State University with a BA degree in journalism. All of which might make it easy to forget that the NFC's highest-rated qualified passer from the 2022 season will become a free agent on March 15. Moving on from Garoppolo is the prudent move to make. That record breaks a team. Purdy has already shown he can succeed with little or no game preparation. Lance remains nothing but question marks to coach Kyle Shanahan and his staff. Teams do move on from good quarterbacks to take a flier on someone potentially better. 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. Trading Garoppolo would also mean the 49ers need a better veteran option at backup behind Lance. Shanahans win-loss mark is 22-8 in games where Garoppolo was the starter. That is why the 49ers need to make the move now. The 49ers know what Purdy can do. The Raiders come to mind considering the talent they have entering the post-Carr era; the Tampa Bay Buccaneers make sense as they look to remain contenders following Tom Brady's latest retirement; and the New Orleans Saints, New York Jets and Washington Commanders all had top-10 defenses in terms of DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average) at Football Outsiders but were handcuffed by poor and/or inconsistent quarterback play in 2022. Jimmy Garoppolo just got paid. One 49ers source told NBC Sports Bay Area they were expecting to receive two first-round draft picks in exchange for Garoppolo. See trending Despite his success, 49er fans have come to expect at. As the 2020 regular NFL season comes to an end, more speculation on whether or not the 49ers are going to keep Jimmy Garoppolo heats up. So, we'll leave it at that.". While Shanahan was blunt in his assessment of the QBs future, Lynch on Tuesday was more diplomatic when asked about Garoppolo at the NFL combine. "That's the same answer for every position. If they arent able to make a trade, they should just put him on season long injured reserve and let Mullens play out the next eight games. Weight: 225 lbs . I think they recognize that Jimmy does have some value, and I dont think its a foregone conclusion by any stretch of the imagination that they would be moving on.. That is both the company line and the truth. A high YPA can be a product of safe passing within strong offenses, especially if a quarterback has receivers capable of picking up significant yards after the catch. ESPN Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved. That started in January when the team was linked to Matthew Stafford before their divisional. Well see at some point how we get Trey that opportunity. While the delay in repairing Purdys right ulnar collateral ligament isnt ideal, an extra week or three to reduce the swelling and make for a better outcome is the right call. But look at Jimmy, look at what he's done. Does Lance have enough experience to be dependable in terms of decision-making in running Shanahans offense? In his first, and only, full season as an NFL starter, he led San Francisco to a 13-win Super Bowl run in 2019. The curse of the almost-good quarterback is one of the worst things that an NFL team can be affected with. In both of those games he was anything but consistent when asked to throw the ball past the line of scrimmage. Jimmy Garoppolo, Nick Bosa, Trent Williams and Dre Greenlaw discussed the team's week of practices in Colorado, previewed the 49ers Week 11 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals and praised the . Kyle Shanahan Tells Robert Saleh He Cant Take 49ers Coaches With Him. The eyes of the football world are currently on the NFL Scouting Combine, with a particular focusas usualon the first-round-caliber quarterbacks who will either throw or not throw but will all be present in Indianapolis. Or the Niners look to the draft to grab a rookie to sit behind Jimmy G.. Explore Who is the all-time NFL receiving leader? Its easy to trust Shanahan and Lynch and their judgement but even good coaches and personnel evaluators have made mistakes on quarterbacks. And in general, quarterback wins are a silly stat. Now that the Texans have hired a coach, what will they do to fix struggling QB position? See trending We picked bold, outside-the-box moves for every NFL team, Montana SB jersey breaks Brady's auction record, 49ers All-Pro Nick Bosa will 'break the entire bank,' but it might take time, Predicting the 2023 starting QB for all 32 NFL teams, from the locks to the wild cards, A new home for Michael Thomas? "Look at Jimmy's record when he's been here. former Super Bowl winning NFL head coach and father of current 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, Chicago Bears . with the team finishing its 2022 campaign with an 8-9 record, good enough for third place in the AFC East. They have a 24-9 record (including playoffs) with him as the starter, while going 5-23 in all other games under Shanahan without him as the starter. Regardless, Lance and Garoppolo seem fairly comfortable with the current setup, a good sign for the Niners given the possible repercussions of a looming quarterback controversy. It improved the 49ers' record to 5-4, a half-game behind Seattle in the . While it would be hard for the Niners to move on from the 28-year-old signal-caller, its not impossible. As with everything else in the world right now, Covid-19 will be hitting the NFL in 2021 in the form of a reduced salary cap. The 49ers went all-in on Trey Lance after the 2021 season as they tried to trade Garoppolo to the highest bidder. The curse of the almost-good quarterback is one of the worst things that an NFL team can be affected with. (Almost) all he does is win, mainly because he (almost) never makes killer mistakes. That gives the 49ers a chance to assess whether their decision to part with two first-round picks and a third-round pick in order to move up to No. Here are their options. There has been much speculation surrounding Jimmy Garoppolo's future in San Francisco, and head coach Kyle Shanahan hoped to set the record straight on Monday. Tampa Bay GM Jason Licht didn't rule out Brady making a second annual return from retirement, for what it's worth, telling reporters Wednesday he'd leave a "flashlight" on at Bucs facilities if the QB changes his mind. In the right offense, with an adept offensive coach capable of utilizing his skill set the way guys like Josh McDaniels and Kyle Shanahan have, it's clear Garoppolo has the ability to start for a Super Bowl team. Jimmy Garoppolo #10 and Head Coach Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers (Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images). The following browsers are supported: Chrome, Edge (v80 and later), Firefox and Safari. Went head-to-head with Tom Brady and won. Purdy was a revelation off the bench late in 2022, showcasing veteran-level poise in a 7-1 run as starter, but he's facing an ambiguous timetable for recovery from elbow surgery. Perhaps it won't happen until 2022. Lets assume the elbow rearranged by Philadelphia edge rusher Haason Reddick can be repaired with the less invasive option and allow Purdy to take the field at some point in early or mid-September. In the meantime, not leaving the football world's peripheral vision are up-in-the-air quarterbacks Lamar Jackson, Aaron Rodgers and Derek Carr. "In our first year, at the end of the year, we do a, It's NFL Combine week, and the San Francisco 49ers are well into the offseason. 1,104: 1,632: 67.6: 13,599: 8.3: 238.6: 82: 5.0: 42: 2.6: 115: 769: 99.2: Explore. For more information, please read our Legal Disclaimer. Garoppolo is an unrestricted free agent for the first time since his first offseason with the team. 2004-2023 CBS Interactive. Yet there were concerns, otherwise Garoppolo wouldnt have been brought back on cutdown day on a reduced deal. Jimmy is a viable, certifiable, starting quarterback in this league. In terms of . But because teams fall in love with prospects like Bryce Young, C.J. Despite the quarterback's injury woes, Shanahan trusts that, when healthy, Garoppolo is the best option for San Francisco going forward. Again, we're all a bit distracted right now, and events related to the rookie class as well as Jackson, Rodgers and Carr are more pressing. In 2022 alone, they started three different players under center en route to an NFC title bid. "But it would be a very tough situation if Jimmy's not on our team.". The 49ers are more familiar with the quarterback shuffle than most. The 49ers were 0-8 when Garoppolo joined the team in 2017 after a trade from the New England Patriots. 6-keys: media/spln/nfl/reg/free/stories, at While the 49ers are set to close out the season in the divisional matchup against the Seattle Seahawks, the team isn't guaranteeing the quarterback's 2020 return. If any of those squads lands Garoppolo and he can put together a healthy season or two in the years to come, it won't regret taking a shot at one of the most underappreciated free agents the league has ever seen. Health permitting, theres no reason to believe he wont do it again with the same coach, the same offense, the same weapons and a top-flight defense to get him the ball.