Michael Giardi of NBC Sports Boston discussed the sudden and surprising trade that sent New England Patriots backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to the San Francisco 49ers on Monday.
"I think once you get over the initial shock, he's basically like, 'Get me on an airplane. Get me out there. I'm ready. Let's go. Let's do this thing,'" said Giardi. "He's known about the interest that [Kyle] Shanahan has had in him for some time and, look, this is a clean slate for him. That organization is at the bottom of the barrel but people feel like they've got some pieces in place and one of the things they needed to do was to find a quarterback. He believes he's that quarterback.
"The feeling is this has the potential to be a great marriage. The phrase is, 'They're going to love each other.' I don't know a head coach and a quarterback can love each other, especially one that is as involved in the offense as Shanahan is, but I think this has a chance to be a really good one and one that can help propel Garoppolo forward."
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan scouted Garoppolo during his time with the Cleveland Browns and had a high grade on the Eastern Illinois product coming out of college. However, Cleveland opted to select quarterback Johnny Manziel with the 22nd-overall pick in 2014. 40 picks later, Garoppolo was selected by New England.
"Yeah, they had me look at every quarterback and evaluate every quarterback," Shanahan told NBC Sports Bay Area in February. "That's pretty much how it is everywhere. They ask you to evaluate everyone and you give grades and you tell people who you want and you wait to see what happens."
Following Brian Hoyer's release, Garoppolo and rookie C.J. Beathard are the only quarterbacks on San Francisco's roster. Beathard started the 49ers' last two games after replacing Hoyer during a Week 6 matchup against the Washington Redskins. There is no doubt that as soon as Garoppolo is comfortable with the offense, he will become the team's starter for the foreseeable future.
While Garoppolo is in the final year of his contract, the 49ers have an abundance of salary cap space available to complete a long-term deal. If one cannot be reached by the new league year, they could potentially use the franchise tag on the quarterback. However, Giardi believes Garoppolo will have a contract extension ready for his signature before he hits free agency in 2018.
"Jimmy Garoppolo's desire has been to get the opportunity to show he's every bit the quarterback as any other player playing the position in the NFL," wrote Giardi in a recent article. "So when the Pats attempted to work out a deal this offseason that would keep Garoppolo in Foxboro for the foreseeable future, Garoppolo wouldn't put pen to paper and make it happen, a source says. In order to play in this league, the 4th year pro was pretty certain he'd have to go somewhere else."
Garoppolo has his opportunity now. He will be the centerpiece of the 49ers' rebuild going forward.