The San Francisco 49ers are not finished evaluating Jimmy Garoppolo. At least, not yet.
49ers General Manager John Lynch fielded questions Monday regarding Garoppolo's future under center as well as the team's decision to trade up for the No. 3 overall in the 2021 NFL draft. Lynch said ownership gave the green light for the team to make the trade and still retain Garoppolo:
“We felt like we had a team that can compete,” Lynch said, via Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. “We went to ownership, said ‘hey things are looking good, we want to make this (trade), but we don't want to say good bye to Jimmy.'”
San Francisco has not wavered from throwing support behind Garoppolo even if the 49ers appear likely to take a quarterback with the third pick.
Exactly what it all means going forward would appear to be rather fluid, however. The 49ers might regard Garoppolo as the starter at present, though that could change if a rookie dazzles in camp and wins the job outright. Perhaps Lynch feels some competition can spur Garoppolo to reach a new level.
One thing is clear: the onus will be on “Jimmy G” to perform at a high level.
Garoppolo went 3-3 in six starts last season, missing most of the year with a bad ankle. The injury issues have been severely inhibitive in recent years, and the performance has not necessarily merited the five-year, $137.5 million deal he signed back in 2018.
The 49ers still seem to have high hopes for Garoppolo headed into 2021. However, Lynch clearly also has an eye towards the future.
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