Jimmy Garoppolo gave the San Francisco 49ers reasons to be safe at quarterback for many years. But eventually, Kyle Shanahan decided it was time for Trey Lance, who was drafted third overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.
On top of that, Brock Purdy emerged as another great option for the Niners last year. Jimmy G was expected to leave last year, but ended up agreeing on a restructured deal after the team couldn’t find a trade partner.
He even got to start after Lance’s injury, but Shanahan made it clear he didn’t “see a scenario” where Garoppolo would be back in the Bay area in 2023. However, the coach still has a lot of respect for the veteran signal-caller.
Kyle Shanahan says Jimmy Garoppolo was the 49ers best QB since Steve Young
“I think Jimmy [Garoppolo] was unbelievable for us,” Shanahan said, via NBC Sports’ Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports. “He won lots of games. I think that was a simple question. Is there a scenario where he’ll be back here next year and I gave a common sense answer — ‘No.’ I think that was a little overblown, on trying to be a shot at him or anything. We knew he wasn’t going to be coming back from his standpoint or ours, financially and everything.
“I think he was the best quarterback here in about 20 years in Steve Young. Has an unbelievable record and every time he played and stayed healthy we were in the Super Bowl or the NFC Championship game.”
Shanahan was honest about the team’s future, which is being built around two young quarterbacks like Lance and Purdy. Now they also have Sam Darnold on the roster, while Garoppolo is preparing to be the Las Vegas Raiders’ QB1.
