Nearly two months after Jimmy Gaorppolo seemingly bid farewell to his 49ers’ tenure, he remains on the roster, and general manager John Lynch seems fine with that.
Garoppolo’s shoulder surgery thwarted any trade talks to move him off the roster while quarterback vacancies filled up around the league this month, Lynch confirmed Monday at the NFL owners’ meetings in South Beach, Fla.
“There were a ton of conversations and I think there was real good momentum,” Lynch said, according to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco. “Then, the decision that was made for Jimmy to have surgery certainly caused a lot of teams to pause and at least slow down the process to do their due diligence.
“The quarterback musical chairs is going on, and all along we understood that we really value Jimmy and never were we just going to give him away.”
Garoppolo is entering the final year of his contract at a $24 million salary.
Lynch does not foresee cutting Garoppolo to merely free up salary-cap space, noting: “He’s too good a player. I don’t foresee that. Jimmy will be playing for us or playing for somebody else. He’s too good a player not to be.”
Lynch did not rule out bringing him back even though Trey Lance figures to take over the starting role after sitting behind Garoppolo most of his rookie season last year. Also, Nate Sudfeld was recently signed to a $2 million deal commensurate for a backup quarterback.
“We’re fortunate that we have three quarterbacks we believe in Trey, Jimmy and Nate,” Lynch added in his media session, according to The Athletic’s Matt Barrows. “And, you know, some people are looking for one. So I think that’s a position of strength.”
Lynch said last season’s quarterback situation “never felt awkward,” and he credited the communication among Garoppolo, Lance and coaches for that.
Garoppolo underwent shoulder surgery March 8 to repair a torn capsule, and he should be cleared to resume throwing in three months. “He’s doing great, I can tell you that. His rehab is going extremely well and I think the prognosis is excellent,” Lynch said, according to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Jennifer Lee Chan.
