The San Franciso 49ers ended the 2017 NFL regular season on a high note behind a five-game win streak behind the stellar play of quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.

The 26-year-old is set to enter the NFL offseason as a free agent, but general manager John Lynch has wasted little time in making clear that the 49ers want to lock him up to a long-term contract, according to Nick Wagoner of ESPN.

“Look, we want Jimmy to be a Niner for a long, long time, and that process is going to take place here and we're eager to get that done, to have the opportunity,” Lynch said.

The 49ers will have the option to place the franchise tag on Garoppolo if need be once they are eligible to do so. It could likely be used a basis point for the negotiation process between sides on a lucrative deal that could make him one of the highest paid quarterbacks in the league.

San Francisco won't have any financial constraints as the team is projected to have an excess of $100 million in salary cap space next offseason. He has quickly transformed the sense around the organization toward much optimism about the team's prospects in 2018 with him under center.

In the first five starts with the 49ers, Garoppolo set the 49ers record for passing yards over that span with 1,542 passing yards. During that stretch, he threw for at least 240 yards in each contest while posting a passer rating higher than 100 passer rating twice.