MIAMI, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 02: Jimmy Garoppolo #10 of the San Francisco 49ers reacts against the Kansas City Chiefs during the second quarter in Super Bowl LIV at Hard Rock Stadium on February 02, 2020 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)Jimmy Garoppolo has quickly gone from hero to zero in San Francisco, but that doesn’t mean his time with the franchise is running out.
This season has been riddled with injuries for Garoppolo, who is currently on injured reserve due to a high-ankle sprain. When he’s on the field though, Garoppolo hasn’t been very special. It’s a bad situation for a player who doesn’t have much guaranteed money left on his contract.
San Francisco has been linked to veteran quarterbacks like Matt Ryan and first-round prospects like Zach Wilson. Both players are intriguing options for the 49ers, but the front office might not be ready to part ways with Garoppolo yet.
On Tuesday, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan shared his thoughts on Garoppolo’s future with the team. He may have shocked the NFL world with one of his remarks, saying “I expect Jimmy Garoppolo to be our starter next year.”
“I expect Jimmy Garoppolo to be our starter next year.” -Kyle Shanahan
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) November 17, 2020
Shanahan’s words don’t really mean much until we actually see what happens in the offseason. It’s not like he would tell the public from November that he wants a new quarterback.
Plenty of NFL analysts are predicting San Francisco to get rid of Garoppolo once this season is over. That includes 49ers legend Steve Young, who said “I just don’t know how Jimmy ends up being the quarterback for the 49ers next year.”
If the 49ers release Garoppolo before the 2021 season, the front office would only get with a $2.8 million dead cap hit. It’s not a tough pill to swallow by any means.
The next few months for San Francisco are going to be extremely interesting, to say the least.
