Jimmy Garoppolo remained with the San Francisco 49ers after the organization was unable to find him a business partner by the 53-man roster deadline. The 49ers thought Garoppolo would have been traded much sooner if not for shoulder surgery this offseason.
General manager John Lynch revealed Thursday that he believes the 49ers are close to reaching a deal in March.
“What I can tell you with great confidence is that the weather is combined, there have been some really serious discussions,” Lynch said Thursday, via 49ers Web Zone. “When I say seriously, probably two, three teams I felt like – you’d have to ask them – it was going to happen. And that’s when the news (of the operation) broke. Then things went where they went.”
The 49ers decided to restructure Garoppolo’s contract once they couldn’t find him a business partner. Garoppolo’s new deal includes $6.5 million in fully guaranteed base salary with a no-trade and no-tag clause attached to the deal. This allows Garoppolo to be a free agent and pick his next team in 2023.
As a result, San Francisco has arguably the best backup quarterback in football, and an insurance policy in case starting quarterback Trey Lance goes down.
The 49ers won’t hesitate to trade Garoppolo later this year if the right deal emerges, but it will have to be Garoppolo’s choice. A reduced salary certainly improves Garoppolo’s market.
“The smaller the contract, the more appealing you still are at every position for every team,” Lynch said Wednesday. “When I told Trey that Jimmy was coming back, he was like, ‘Great. This guy was great for me last year. I can’t wait to be the same.’
“So I think when you have a quarterback room where people like each other, it’s more fun to come to work, because you’re often in that room together. And I know those guys like each other. They have a few different skills, so they can both learn things from each other just by watching each other.
“And the more football there is, the closer they are to each other and the more they talk, usually it fades back and forth.”
