Jimmy Garoppolo will start for the San Francisco 49ers in this morning's game against the Chicago Bears. Rookie Trey Lance, who is coming off a knee sprain, will serve as his backup. That has been the status quo for the 2021 season. But a change may be on the horizon. While head coach Kyle Shanahan will never admit that, it is what NFL Network's Ian Rapoport believes.
Wrote Rapoport: "Based on conversations with sources this week, here is where it stands: Garoppolo will start this week, with Lance as the backup. And based on a variety of factors -- including how Garoppolo plays and the team's record -- Lance could be on the field in a key role soon."
In April, the 49ers traded a haul of future draft capital to move up to the No. 3 overall pick to draft Lance.
"We know Trey is the future here, and we're trying to do what's best for him and for our team," Shanahan said this past week. "And Trey's coming off a pretty big injury, and we're going to keep bringing him along and keep getting him prepared as good as he can be to always be ready to come in and help on the plays that we ask him to do. Always be ready to take over if Jimmy gets hurt and being ready to be the future for us too."
Garoppolo has already suffered a calf injury this season, forcing the quarterback to miss the second half of Week 4 and all of Week 5. Lance's injury came from that Week 5 start. However, he didn't realize he was injured until after the game.
Another setback for Garoppolo could signal the end of his starting days with the 49ers. The quarterback has missed time in three of his past four seasons (counting 2021) with San Francisco.
Obviously, Shanahan would prefer Garoppolo stay healthy and start the remainder of the season, allowing the rookie to sit, learn, and better prepare for when he does get called upon to lead the offense.
"But if the losses continue, they may not have that luxury. Lance may have to play to begin the development for 2022 and beyond," wrote Rapoport. "Based on the team's 2-4 record, another few losses may force them to look to the future."
Garoppolo struggling could also lead to a change at quarterback. However, it might take an epically bad performance from the veteran quarterback. At least while speaking publicly, Shanahan doesn't feel Garoppolo's play has been as poor as the outside narrative tries to portray.
Shanahan told reporters this week that he feels Garoppolo played well in his first three games and the first half against the Seattle Seahawks before being injured.
"And then he went out, and his first game back was in that rain game [against the Indianapolis Colts] and had a rough game in that rain game," Shanahan said. "So, I'm going to see how bounces back this week, but to say that he's been playing bad all year, I would say is inaccurate."
Rapoport, however, believes that a poor performance in Chicago, coupled with another loss, might change Shanahan's mind.