Still confused as to why the 49ers made Jimmy Garoppolo a rescheduled trade? Don’t do that — at least that’s the message from head coach Kyle Shanahan on Tuesday.
Shanahan portrayed the 49ers’ biggest QB move of the preseason, and it’s kind of like there’s no doubt about it, even if he long ago thought it was impossible. “It’s (a case of), ‘Oh my god, Jimmy Garoppolo can be a backup quarterback,'” Shanahan said. “‘It makes sense for him and it makes sense for us. What else is there to think about?'”
In bringing back Garoppolo on pay cut The 49ers were able to avoid huge financial losses for free. Now, they have a returning quarterback who has started 45 games for the club and has helped the team to the Super Bowl and the NFC Championship game over the past three years. That’s hard-to-get insurance in this league.
“We have a starting quarterback as a backup,” Shanahan said. “The rest of the league had a chance to get him, and I’m lucky they didn’t.
“It’s never a bad thing for our team. “
The starter is Trey Lance of course — Shanahan re-emphasized that in case anyone was wondering. He added that Garoppolo is the team’s QB2 heading into Week 1 of the Chicago Bears The game.
Lance’s predictions are very optimistic ahead of San Francisco’s final preseason game. However, Lance and the first-team offense go against Texas in the preseason finale The Man’s underperformance — combined with Garoppolo’s return a few days later — raises questions about whether the 49ers quietly care about their 22-year-old starter.
Fear not. Shanahan doubles down on his belief that the 49ers will enjoy great fortunes at this position.
“There aren’t 32 starting quarterbacks in the NFL,” Shanahan said , “We believe we have two. “
It has also been speculated that there might be tension between Lance and Garoppolo in this arrangement. Another potential issue that Shanahan is happy to shoot down.
“When I told Trey that Jimmy was back, he said ‘great,'” Shanahan said. “No relationship can be fixed. “
Garoppolo continues to work after offseason shoulder surgery, and he’s distressed without a script? Shanahan takes the opportunity to play down the idea with a bit of humor.
“We had zero concerns about him not having a script,” Shanahan said. “Neither did I.
Shanahan was asked why they traded Garoppolo if he was such an asset. The coach then cast some shadows on the other 31 teams in the league because of their inertia.
“The rest of the league has a chance to get him,” Shanahan said.
, but Shanahan also mentioned that he wasn’t sure the dream would unfold the way it did. Naturally there were doubts that Garoppolo would accept the current situation. Shanahan said those doubts persisted until recently—in fact, until the past few days. Weeks, maybe even days.
Before that, the 49ers seemed a little fidgety about their backup QB spot. Nate Sudfeld and seventh-rounder Brock Purdy were both vying for the spot, but Neither was considered the most attractive option for a team with Super Bowl dreams. Shanahan said Purdy beat Sudfeld and plan B was to have Purdy as a backup. (Sudfield was cut from the team on Tuesday.) That plan apparently changed once retaining Garoppolo became a reality. This might be read as an indictment of Purdy, but in reality, the room with the least experienced QB in the NFL had so much to expect this season
That’s why, at least as far as Shanahan is concerned. Whether it works for all parties remains to be seen. But it’s hard not to put this See it as a big win for San Francisco — even if Garoppolo’s patience is tested — rather than concern that Lance could have a big season in the West.
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