Jimmy Garoppolo said at his news conference that it would be his last as a member of the San Francisco 49.
Garoppolo is still with the 49ers nearly two months later, and that doesn't seem to be changing any time soon. John Lynch, the general manager of the Niners, made it clear that he doesn't see a scenario in which Garoppolo will be released.
Lynch said he didn't think that was possible. Jimmy will either be playing for us or someone else. He is too good of a player to not be.
The only path the Niners see for a divorce with Garoppolo is a trade market that has yet to happen. Lynch gave some insight into the possible scenarios in which Garoppolo would stay in San Francisco.
Garoppolo has not been traded because the Niners have not received a formal offer. Lynch said that the Niners had talked with other teams about striking an agreement, which could not have been made official until March 16.
Lynch denied reports that he received an offer of two second-round picks, and he said he has not told anyone that such an offer was ever on the table.
While other quarterbacks began to move in trades and signings around the league, Lynch said Garoppolo's right shoulder surgery is the thing that caused teams to put pursuit of him on hold.
Lynch said that the surgery gave the teams that we were closest with pause and they ended up going in different directions.
Lynch said that Garoppolo's shoulder surgery didn't catch the Niners off guard, but that the Niners and Garoppolo were operating under the premise that rehabilitation would get Garoppolo back to full strength. Garoppolo had the surgery in March after that didn't happen.
Garoppolo isn't expected to be cleared to throw at full strength until after training camp. The Niners are likely to hold on to him until July.
Lynch acknowledged that many of the teams that initially showed interest in Garoppolo have since moved on to other quarterbacks, adding that there are teams that are still in contact.
Which raises the question of whether Garoppolo could return to the Niners for another season. Garoppolo is going to have to count $26.94 million against the salary cap. The Niners would save $25.55 million in cap space if Garoppolo were to be released. If the 49ers released Garoppolo now, they would be on the hook for a $7.5 million injury guarantee, though that comes with offsets up to the full amount, meaning if another team signed him for that amount or more, the Niners would get that credited back on.
Lynch insisted that the Niners could not only keep Garoppolo next season but also keep his current salary.
Lynch said that they value strength at that position. On our team. A series of events happened that did not work out. That is not a bad thing. We feel good about it. We will make it work.
To get under the salary cap, the Niners had to restructure the contracts of tight end George Kittle and defensive lineman Arik Armstead, as well as add Charvarius Ward from the Kansas City Chiefs.
Lynch said that the Niners followed their plan and that Garoppolo would not have changed how they went about their business in free agency.
Lynch said that they were able to do everything they wanted to do in free agency. Whether we had Jimmy or not, that was our plan.
Lynch wouldn't say what would happen if Garoppolo came back, or how the quarterback situation would play out. He said that Garoppolo's injury will keep him out long enough for Lance and Nate to take all the reps in the summer program.
Lynch said they were thrilled with what he had shown so far and where they knew he was going to go. That is vital. There are 10,000 reps. He needs them. He will have an opportunity this off-season.
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