On Friday, general manager John Lynch had a chance to respond to some of the fallout resulting from the San Francisco 49ers' Week 3 loss to the Denver Broncos. Much of the blame has been placed on the shoulders of quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. However, it isn't just for his poor play on the football field, leading to the 11-10 loss in the Mile High City.
Former 49ers tight end Brent Jones criticized Garoppolo for his lack of frustration following the Week 3 defeat. Garoppolo was seen smiling as he greeted an old teammate, offensive tackle Cameron Fleming, who was part of the same New England Patriots 2014 draft class as the 49ers quarterback.
"It almost looked like he didn't even care," Jones said on KNBR. "It was so frustrating, and maybe I was just mad because the game was so ugly. If that's me, I'm running for the locker room. I am not smiling; I am not talking to anybody for a week if you play like that."
idk bruh -- a little too smiley immediately after a pretty abysmal performance. pic.twitter.com/A5QcYwl2pZ
— Jason Dumas (@JDumasReports) September 26, 2022
"Cameron Fleming, the guy in that [video], is a guy that Jimmy played a lot of football with at New England," Lynch said Friday morning on KNBR. "And so, I've been there before. I think I was as competitive as anyone. You see an old friend, this is professional football. ... He saw an old friend, and Cameron Fleming probably said something that made Jimmy chuckle.
"Here's what I can tell you. I'm fine with Brent saying that, but I can tell you Jimmy is a tremendous competitor. I know how much losing hurts. I know how much we've won under Jimmy, and that's a lot because of his competitive nature. So I have no worries about that."
This week, former 49ers quarterback Steve Young expressed concern regarding any potential resentment on Garoppolo's part for San Francisco's handling of his situation. The 49ers drafted his replacement last year. Then, this offseason, while Garoppolo consumed a roster spot, he was pretty much off the team. He wasn't practicing with his teammates, nor was he attending meetings. Garoppolo didn't even have a playbook. Young believes the quarterback had basically been fired.
A lack of trade options forced the 49ers to offer Garoppolo a restructured one-year deal to return.
"My worry is that when you feel victimized, then you have resentment," Young said on KNBR. "And the resentment is palpable. And that's what we have to be super careful of right here because there's creative tension and toxic tension."
Lynch doesn't believe there is any lingering resentment from Garoppolo.
"He did think we made a mistake when we said, 'Hey, we're going to go draft a young kid,'" Lynch said. "But hey, he's going to be a professional. As for resentment, I don't think so because—and Kyle talked about it yesterday—he spends so much time with him. Kyle, not only our head coach, but he's our offensive play-caller. He's in the quarterback meetings every day. So there's a lot of time spent [together]."
The 49ers GM also addressed the viral clip of Garoppolo saying something after a failed play from Sunday night. It's anyone's guess what he actually said, and some have speculated the worst. Even Garoppolo doesn't recall what his words were at that moment.
"All of your plays suck man."- Jimmy G pic.twitter.com/7BAe0dUC3s
— Brooks Anderson II (@BNAmusic88) September 27, 2022
"I don't even know what I was saying," Garoppolo told Matt Barrows on Thursday after the reporter for The Athletic showed him the video. "I say a lot of things."
Lynch noted that he didn't even endeavor to decipher what his veteran quarterback said in the video but added, "If we're all responsible for all the things we say in the heat of battle, then we're all in trouble."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Lynch below.
