The San Francisco 49ers have Jimmy Garoppolo under contract for at least two more seasons, and the veteran full-back is still less than a year away from leading his team to the Super Bowl. However, as the suburbs get closer in 2021, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan does not commit to Garoppolo as the Niners’ future signalman. Asked on Monday about Garoppolo’s prospects of staying San Francisco’s starter, Shanahan defends the QB’s resume and salary, but refuses to eliminate to pursue a replacement.
“You can say nothing with certainty,” the coach told reporters: by Nick Wagoner of ESPN. “You do not sit here and promise nothing. If you build a football team, it is your job to put together the best team year in and year out.”
Shanahan, to his credit, opened the conversation by saying he believes Garoppolo “will be our quarterback next year.” But his other remarks, responding to questions about his confidence in Garoppolo’s job security, said more about San Francisco’s apparent openness to change. In a long-running defense of Garoppolo’s contract, a $ 137.5 million deal that the Niners can already get with this minimum penalty, Shanahan finally offered lukewarm endorsements.
“People talk about Jimmy’s salary,” he said. “Jimmy is like one of the middle backs in the league at the moment when it comes to salary. It’s just how much it costs. So it’s not like it’s ridiculous or anything like that so we can work it all out. And not to “Look at Jimmy’s record when he was here. Jimmy with whom you can win. He proved it. He proved he’s a starting quarterback in this league.”
Positive words, yes, but hardly an unwavering loyalty to Garoppolo. We can work it all out. Jimmy with which you can win. Niners fans can not be blamed if they read the comments while Shanahan tries to discuss the possibility of Garoppolo’s return. Franchise QBs, we know, are not just guys can win with. They are guys you want to win for you.
Too much speculation of Shanahan’s words? Perhaps. But the Niners’ actions say otherwise. San Francisco openly acknowledged a potential pursuit of Tom Brady ahead of the 2020 season, indicating that they were open to replacing Garoppolo as the face of the franchise long before this year’s injury. And while Shanahan warned that teams need to be careful when trying to replace proven players, like Garoppolo, he also did not close the door on another pursuit of other QBs in 2021.
“You look at every avenue and you see if there is anything that can make you a ton better,” he said. “It’s the same answer for every position, but you look at Jimmy, look at what he did, look where he’s financially, we better have a very good answer if you’re going to find something better than that. Jimmy showed in one years that he is the man who can take us to the Super Bowl, and I also think Jimmy is going to get a lot better the more he plays. ‘