Shanahan: Garoppolo likely mad over trade
San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch didn’t disguise their intentions Monday, only stopping short of naming which quarterback they want to draft and develop this year behind incumbent (and disgruntled) starter Jimmy Garoppolo.
Trading up to the No. 3 overall pick on Friday signaled that twoquarterback approach.
“We went to ownership and said, ‘Hey, things are looking good, we’d like to make this move but we also don’t want to say goodbye to Jimmy,’ ” Lynch said. “We’ve shown we can get to a Super Bowl with him. We can play at a high level, and we don’t think those two things they have to be mutually exclusive.”
Added Shanahan: “We’ve got a guy in here we know we can win with, a guy that our players love, that we love. We’re excited to have him this year and we’re excited to have a hell of a quarterback right behind him, learning for when the time’s his.”
Let’s cut to the highlights:
THE GAROPPOLO DRAMA >> First off was explaining the 49ers’ intentions with Garoppolo — and vice versa.
“I’m sure Jimmy was a little pissed off from it, like I’d be too,” Shanahan said. “But knowing Jimmy, he’ll be fired up and come in and work his butt off.
“The more mad Jimmy gets, usually the better he gets. This is going to be a good thing for Jimmy, too, which would be a great thing for the 49ers.”
Shanahan called Garoppolo before Friday’s news broke about the 49ers moving up from No. 12 overall to No. 3 (at the cost of three first-round picks and a thirdrounder to Miami), and Lynch followed up with his own call to relay the 49ers’ intentions of keeping him in 2021.
Whether Garoppolo remains on board with that plan is unknown. Neither he nor his agent has commented publicly this offseason. He has two years remaining on a contract paying him roughly $25 million annually, and the 49ers’ brass did not indicate that a holdout or trade request is forthcoming.
But Garoppolo is available via trade, even as Shanahan downplayed that possibility.
“Yeah. That’s accurate with with every player on the team, probably including myself, if someone blows us away with a trade for me,” Shanahan replied, to which Lynch interjected a “no” on any coach-related trade.
WHO’S THE GUY
Shanahan sees a great quarterback crop awaiting in next month’s draft, and while he wouldn’t name any of the three leading options or his film-room favorite, he acknowledged there are “five guys kind of at this party.”
Lynch acknowledged that Trevor Lawrence is the projected No. 1 pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars, and then as for the No. 2 spot, Lynch said; “who knows what happens with the Jets.”
Zach Wilson (BYU), Justin Fields (Ohio State), Trey Lance (North Dakota State) and Mac Jones (Alabama) all are contenders for the 49ers (and Jets).
“It’s gonna be hard to find a quarterback that gives us a better chance to win right now, especially even a rookie in the draft,” Shanahan said.
Shanahan revealed that he and Lynch are attending Alabama’s pro day Tuesday, in part because Fields is willing to work out separately for the 49ers after his own pro day at Ohio State on Tuesday.
CHIEFS’ MODEL
Of all the NFL’s storied quarterback competitions (or controversies, as they’re more known in 49ers land), the Kansas City Chiefs hold the most recent successful model that the 49ers will try following. Alex Smith led a playoff-bound Chiefs team in 2017 while rookie Patrick Mahomes sat that season, took over in 2018 and won the Super Bowl in his second year as a starter (against the 49ers).
“That’s a good example, the most obvious example of having a really good quarterback, drafting a young guy, having success and moving on the next year,” said Shanahan, indicating that Garoppolo would be a lame-duck in 2021.
NFL history is littered with other examples, such as Steve Young coexisting with Joe Montana for five years on the 49ers, and Aaron Rodgers biding his time behind Brett Favre in Green Bay. Not all such transitions pay off in Lombardi Trophies and the 49ers are embracing that risk.
TIMING OF THE TRADE
Lynch said the 49ers worked the phones since early March in search of a move up from No. 12.
“I felt pretty strongly we’d be left at the alter sitting at 12,” Shanahan said. “To move up to (No.) 3, we had to feel good there’d be three guys we’d feel comfortable leading our team for a long time.”
So the 49ers presented their case to 49ers ownership, including CEO Jed York and his father, John.
“We paid somewhat of a premium doing it early, and why was that important, I remember one thing Bill Walsh used to talk about when I was at Stanford is that you’ve got to beat your opponent to the punch,” said Lynch, who played under Walsh at Stanford before embarking on a Pro Football Hall of Fame career as a safety.
“Might we pay a premium for that? Yeah but this was a priority for our football organization. We have great confidence for our group of players.”
Notes
• The press conference did not clarify defensive end Dee Ford’s health status, other than Lynch saying he’s “in a good place” and doing well after last season’s back issue.
• As for the notion that Kirk Cousins represents Shanahan’s ideal prototype at quarterback, “that’s pretty ridiculous to say that but I love Kirk,” Shanahan said. “He’s a hell of a player. A lot of people would be lucky to have a quarterback like that.” Shanahan reiterated he planned to add Cousins as a 2018 free agent before trading for Garoppolo in 2017.
• Linebacker Nathan Gerry, a former Philadelphia Eagles starter and special-teams contributor, signed a one-year deal, the 49ers announced.
• Lynch opened the press conference by thanking and wishing well Bob Lange, the 49ers’ vice president of communications the past 12 years who’s taken on a similar role with the Eagles.