System or players? That’s the rub

Goodbye, Garoppolo, hello, Alabama’s Jones?

Those who were the most anxious after listening to the 49ers’ predraft news conference Monday: Jimmy Garoppolo and the significant segment of fans who don’t want them to select Alabama quarterback Mac Jones with the No. 3 pick Thursday night.

When the nearly 30minute session with head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch ended, it was clear that Garoppolo’s immediate future is unsettled. And al

though it admittedly required some amateur tealeaf reading, it sure sounded as if Shanahan was trying to brace the Faithful for Jones to join the franchise.

For starters, there is the matter of Garoppolo’s shaky status. When Shanahan was asked if he could say with certainty that Garoppolo would be on the roster Sunday, the day after the draft, he dodged the question with some dark humor.

“I can’t guarantee that anybody in the world will be alive Sunday,” Shanahan said, “so I can’t guarantee who will be on our roster on Sunday.”

In other words: The 49ers will pick up the phone if a team inquires about Garoppolo. The most logical suitor would be the Patriots, Garoppolo’s former team, who remain in the QB market and are unlikely to land one of the top five prospects if they don’t trade up from the No. 15 pick.

Shanahan did later discuss the value of keeping Garoppolo, which could have been a way of trying to maximize his trade value. But there are plenty of good reasons to keep Garoppolo, who is 249 as the 49ers’ starter and probably still would be the unquestioned No. 1 if not for his injury history. If the 49ers’ rookie quarterback isn’t ready or struggles if given the starting role, Garoppolo provides excellent insurance in 2021 for a team with Super Bowl aspirations.

“We have a guy who every time he’s been a starter, he’s played at a high level,” Shanahan said. “So to have that with Jimmy, while adding a rookie quarterback, gives us a lot of leeway into this. I’m not going to set anything in stone, but I know that’s a situation that it would be hard to (abandon).

“I mean, when you take a rookie quarterback and you have a veteran like Jimmy who we know we can win with, just to move on from that is something that is not easy to do. That is a good situation for us. And I think that’s something that will be important to us this year.”

Shanahan spoke a day after NFL Network reported the 49ers had narrowed their QB choices to Jones or North Dakota State’s Trey Lance, eliminating Ohio State’s Justin Fields. The 49ers would be more likely to trade Garoppolo during the draft if they selected Jones, who is viewed as more NFLready than Lance, who played at a lower level and has started just one game since January 2020.

Shanahan appeared with Lynch at the predraft session with reporters for the first time since they arrived in 2017. Lynch made it clear Shanahan had the final say on the selection.

“When it comes to quarterbacks, I would be foolish — we have a head coach who is also our offensive play caller — I will always defer to him,” Lynch said.

The two were asked multiple questions about a possible backlash to the pick at No. 3, with one reporter specifically mentioning Jones’ unpopularity with the fans.

In response, Shanahan twice suggested fans shouldn’t get caught up in where the QB is drafted. The 49ers traded two future firstround picks and a thirdrounder to the Dolphins last month to move from No. 12 to No. 3. If the pick is Jones, there will be questions about why the 49ers paid the price to move up nine spots for a QB who likely could have been available later.

“If you would have been excited about one of these guys at (No.) 12, be excited at (No.) 3,” Shanahan said. “It’s about whether you get (a QB). So let us go through the process. We’re going to get a good one. Yeah, I wish I could take that anxiety away from people, but that’s because people get excited. … I hope it’s the one you want, but we’ll see.

“And, basically, whoever you want that day, make that judgment later. Let’s see how they help our team.”