The 49ers organization’s public confidence in the quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo makes it harder to determine how they can behave in a non-distinctive active market. Although Deshaun Watson’s trade request has put a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and other veteran backs at teams wanting to turn the page, San Francisco’s moves this year may be less dramatic than sending Garoppolo out in favor of ‘ a new appetizer.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters during his season-closing press conference that he believes Garoppolo is part of the core of the team.
“Yes, I want Jimmy back in our core. Good thing he’s not a free agent, ” Shanahan said.
This was in line with what he said after the team’s Week 16 win over the Cardinals when asked about Garoppolo’s future and said he expected Garoppolo to be the frontrunner, but the team would not receive a clear upgrade. do not pass on.
“Now, if you look at every avenue and see if there is anything that can make you a little better, it’s the same answer for every position,” Shanahan said in late December. ‘But look at Jimmy, look at what he’s done, look at where he’s financially with us, and we have a very good answer if you’re going to find something better than that, because Jimmy has shown in one year that he’s a man. what can we take to the Super Bowl and I also think Jimmy is going to get a lot better the more he plays. ”
It sounds like the 49ers are happy with the rollout of Garoppolo, retaining their draft picks and improving a roster that will be lost due to a number of players in a year in which the salary cap could become an obstacle to retaining the key-free players. A Watson trade may throw a key in these plans, but let’s assume it’s not on the table.
Just because Garoppolo could return as an appetizer in 2021 does not mean there are no quarterback moves. San Francisco struggled last season when rugby head Nick Mullens and CJ Beathard played, and both are going to reach the free agent market in the off-season. Mullens is restricted, while Beathard is due to unlimited free agencies.
Shanahan was, for the first time since 2017, more open to the possibility of making changes to the backup quarterback spot.
“So you have to research everything if you want to fill out a quarterly list,” Shanahan said. ‘We have a starting quarters, but to know where these guys are going to be, we need to re-sign the guys we got or see if we can upgrade them through the concept or a free agency. To be able to do this, you need to evaluate everything so that you know how to stack it and such. So I will definitely be looking at a lot more of these things this year than we did last year. ‘
This is where things get particularly interesting for the 49ers. Rugby full-back is an unusually important place on their rankings, given Garoppolo’s injury history. He has missed 23 of the team’s last 48 games in the regular season. Partly due to the injuries, he still has to confirm himself as the long-term answer of the team.
The risk of sitting in the middle of a playout window without their starting quarterbacks is too great for the 49ers to just fill the quarterback list with cheap backup options. If Garoppolo does not answer some of the lingering questions about his ability to adequately hold off on the 49ers offense, they should start exploring the life options after Garoppolo.
Solving solutions to the two bigger quarterback issues is more urgent for San Francisco than moving away from Garoppolo.
They have the number 12 choice and enough capital to possibly move the board up for a player in this year’s draft class who can solve the QB and long-term QB problem at the same time.
Or they could play a quarterback and run after a free agent like Jacoby Brissett or Ryan Fitzpatrick in an effort to upgrade the QB2 spot immediately. Neither Fitzpatrick, Brissett nor an affordable free agent quarterback will transport the 49ers to a Super Bowl, but they can win games if Garoppolo is unavailable for a long time.
Exact moves and choices can be debated, but the overall point is that the 49ers’ quarterback room last season is likely to look quite different, even if they do not move on from Garoppolo. Strengthening the depth map behind Garoppolo is probably a bigger priority than putting together a brand for a new starter.
Given how little the 49ers were willing to put on the table in Matthew Stafford trade talks – one report said they did not make an official offer once the first round was on the table – it’s hard to put it outside Watson states that they get heavily involved with other potentially available veteran signal callers.
Expected changes will come in the 49ers’ quarterback space this season, but that will not knock Garoppolo’s ticket out of the Bay.