There is no sense of urgency from the San Francisco 49ers to move on from Jimmy Garoppolo. In fact, the quarterback fits nicely into the team's plans for the upcoming season, even after general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan pulled the trigger on moving up in the draft to secure a quarterback of the future.
The 49ers are built to win right now. They believe they have a championship-caliber roster in place and that last season's six-win campaign was an abnormality due almost entirely to a historic number of injuries. If you feel you can compete for a Super Bowl, why would you supplant a veteran quarterback who knows the playbook and system for a rookie?
What if a team like—say the New England Patriots—really wanted Garoppolo? What would it take to pry him away from San Francisco at least a year before the team wants to? First off, it would mean the 49ers are either very impressed with whoever they end up selecting at No. 3 overall, or they can find a suitable veteran bridge quarterback who can come in and do the same types of things that Garoppolo can.
Lynch and Shanahan suggested that they would need to be blown away by an offer even to consider such a move.
"We're in a situation where when you bring in a rookie quarterback, to me, it's always better, especially on the team that you have, if you've got a veteran starter there already who you like and you're comfortable winning with," Shanahan said on Monday. "That's usually the direction you want to go and not throw someone else out into the fire until they're fully ready. That's the situation we're at."
Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated was asked by a fan what it might take for another team to acquire Garoppolo.
"I was told that, yes, it'd take a first-round pick for the Niners to listen at this point," Breer responded in a recent mailbag, "which of course would be nice for San Francisco to have after it yielded its firsts in 2022 and '23 to jump from No. 12 to 3. ... As it stands right now? I don't think the Niners feel any sort of urgency to move Garoppolo, which makes his market value completely irrelevant in comparison to the Niners' price."
Not only did Lynch and Shanahan manage to keep most of their roster together, but it's unlikely that injuries in 2021 will be as season-altering as last year. That puts San Francisco in a win-now mentality. Even if you plan to part ways with Garoppolo next year, it makes no sense to accept a low-ball offer now, even if other teams view it as fair.
"Would, say, a third-round pick coming back for Garoppolo—which probably would be a guy running down the field on kickoffs this fall—make it worth taking that risk?" Breer adds. "Or would you rather keep a guy who's been in your system for four years as the starter for now, especially considering how conservative Kyle Shanahan has been about playing new quarterbacks?"
And who knows? If Garoppolo thrives this season with a rookie waiting in the wings, that may increase his value for next offseason.
