In case you missed the news, the San Francisco 49ers pulled off a blockbuster trade on Friday, moving up from No. 12 overall in next month's draft to No. 3. That puts the team in a good spot to select one of the top quarterback prospects, which is what San Francisco is expected to do.
Where does that leave quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo? ESPN's Adam Schefter, who first reported the trade news, was told by a 49ers source that the team has no intention of trading Garoppolo and plans to keep him — at least for 2021.
"Jimmy is here to stay. He's our guy this year," the source told Schefter.
49ers now square in the QB mix, but are holding on to Jimmy Garoppolo and have no plans to trade him, per sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 26, 2021
49ers' source today: "Jimmy is here to stay. He's our guy this year."
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 26, 2021
According to Schefter's ESPN colleague, Dianna Russini, the New England Patriots reportedly remain interested in Garoppolo.
"Just recently, I was talking to somebody in the league who I really trust. He's got good information," she said this week on ESPN's Get Up! "He said, 'Do not take the Jimmy Garoppolo trade off the table.' That is something New England is still sniffing out. Bill (Belichick) doesn't like to put his cards out on the table, so most think if we all know about that, that probably won't happen, but there is definitely a tone in the league that it could still go down."
The 49ers may want to hold onto Garoppolo for at least another season and have a rookie sit and learn behind the veteran quarterback. After all, it takes time for new players, especially quarterbacks, to absorb the complexities of head coach Kyle Shanahan's offense.
Keeping Garoppolo might also mean the team is invested in winning now but plans to transition to the younger player when he has had enough time to learn the playbook and work within the scheme. San Francisco can part ways with Garoppolo any offseason without much of a penalty.
The top prospects in this year's draft are Trevor Lawrence of Clemson, who is expected to go No. 1 overall, Zach Wilson of BYU, Trey Lance of North Dakota State, and Justin Fields of Ohio State.
General manager John Lynch attended BYU's pro day on Friday, where the headliner was Wilson. He and Shanahan are scheduled to speak with reporters on Monday, which should now be a much more interesting conversation.
