Jimmy Garoppolo has been limited to only six games in 2020, and with the veteran quarterback accounting for more than $53MM in cap charges in 2021 and 2022 (vs. only $4.2MM in potential dead cap), there have naturally been some questions about whether he’ll stick around San Francisco. Today, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan put the kibosh on rumors.
Shanahan told reporters that he believes “Jimmy’s going to be our quarterback next year” (via Matt Barrows of The Athletic on Twitter). The head coach was also quick to dismiss Garappolo’s salary, noting that “that’s how much they cost” when asked about the quarterback.
ESPN’s Nick Wagoner (via Twitter) passes along a detailed answer from Shanahan, where the head coach detailed how teams evaluate every position during the offseason.
“You can’t say anything with certainty,” Shanahan said. “You don’t sit here and make promises on anything. When you build a football team, it’s your job to put the best team together year in and year out.
“Now, you look into every avenue and you see if there’ something out there that can get you a ton better. That’s the same answer for every position but look at Jimmy, look what he’s done, look where he’s at financially. We better have a very good answer if you’re going to find something better than that because Jimmy has shown in one year that he’s the guy who can take us to the Super Bowl and I also think that Jimmy is going to get a lot better the more he plays.”
It was only a year ago that Garoppolo had a standout 2019 campaign, although his performance did dip in the postseason (including a Super Bowl loss where he tossed a pair of interceptions). The 49ers went 3-3 in the 29-year-old’s six starts this season, with Garoppolo completing 67.1-percent of his passes for 1,096 yards, seven touchdowns, and five interceptions.
Of course he’s not going to say anything else.
last time him and the rest of the team were healthy at all they went to the Super Bowl. i dont see the rush to move on.
Jimmy has never been healthy for 16 games
Thank you, Kyle. Now let’s get healthy, faster, and get back to the dance. It’s the NFL. Anyone has a chance
Handsome fellow but often injured. 2021 is make or break IMO.
I still think Jimmy will get cut
lol exactly. He’s getting traded or cut without question. These people don’t understand that Shanahan can’t just come out and say that though for a multitude of reasons. I like Jimmy G. and think he’s a solid quarterback when healthy, but his injury troubles and cap hit + the number of notable free agents the 49ers have this offseason make this an easy decision. My guess is they trade up for a QB in round 1.
or Trade for Cousins !!
Cousins is more expensive lol it’s a money thing, I doubt that happens either.
The Niners and Eagles need to swap Jimmy G and Wentz. Two horrible contracts. But although he hasn’t shown it in years, I think Wentz likely has way more talent than Jimmy. But both could benefit from going somewhere else
Hasn’t this year proven that, as much as Jimmy G has his valid downsides, the Niners really are much better with him on the field right now? Drafting a new quarterback this offseason means starting over. Even though Shanahan is a very hands-on playcaller, a rookie would still a couple of years at least to acclimate. Are the 9ers prepared to wait a couple of years?
If they get tid of Jimmy G, they’d have to find a veteran who would then only have to learn Shanahan’s system-and be willing to sit back and let him make most of the calls. Not every quarterback will do that. Either way, the 9ers have proven that Jimmy G can win under them. They haven’t necessarily proven that they can win without Jimmy G.
I of course am not suggesting that Garrappolo is irreplaceable, but it is something that we have to consider: the fact that Garrappolo might be pretty well suited for Shanahan’s offense. Not an argument that I’m making, a possibility to consider. He does know the system and does know Shanahan and that team, and he has won. I understand that he’s not exciting, but overall, decent quarterbacks built in that kind of system mostly tend to not be (Schaub, Cousins come to mind). It’s a bit premature to call for Garrappolo’s job when he hasn’t really played much.
I agree that drafting a QB would be setting a win-now team back a few years. If the 49ers wish to provide some competition or injury insurance, perhaps they should sign a low-key veteran in the mold of Mariota or Winston. Sort of similar to what the Titans and Raiders did with Tannehill and Mariota respectively
That I could certainly see-especially Mariota. He’s got the mobility to run bootlegs and is used to handing off and also not improvising too much and deviating from his coaches’ calls. I don’t think that he’d accept another backup deal after playing relatively well for the Raiders, but I may be overestimating that. Jimmy G with Mariota as backup would be an example of what I believe to be the ideal situation for the 9ers right now.
Jimmy’s contract makes him a liability. Haskins would be a cost friendly alternative.
Oh good grief hahaha Haskins?! Thank you I needed a laugh this morning.
Well I suppose they could give Tom Savage another chance.
he will be back with the Pat’s next year via trade and be their QB under Belechik for years to come. remember bill didnt want to give him up in the first place
Yeah the Pat’s want an expensive QB that doesn’t finish the season. No thanks
Excellent! I’d hate to see the 49ers with a good QB…
Sam Darnold for Jimmy. This is an easy one
Darnold has a couple of potential landing spots-New England, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis…none of those teams pick early enough to get one of the top quarterbacks (even though I personally am pretty high on the “next tier” of Mac Jones and Kyle Trask), at least according to their line of thinking, and all either need quarterbacks or will need them soon. Darnold going to the 9ers could be great, as it’s close to home and is the opposite of his situation in New York, with stability and a coach will not rely on him to try to have to carry too much of the offense. Darnold might not be a bad choice for San Fran, but they’ll likely have competition.