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The San Francisco 49ers have a unique situation on their hands at the moment. While NFL teams are constantly looking to find a starting quarterback, the 49ers seem to have two with last year's starter, Jimmy Garoppolo, and Trey Lance, the third overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft.
During a press conference last week with reporters, San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan was very candid about his thoughts on the status of Garoppolo going into the 2022 season.
Here's what Shanahan had to say:
"I expect him at some time, most likely, to be traded, but who knows? That's not a guarantee. It's been on hold when (surgery) happened. When he's healthy, we will see what happens."
Garoppolo had surgery on his right (throwing) shoulder back in March and is not yet scheduled to start practicing.
The belief in some circles around the league is that teams that may be interested in taking a chance on the former New England Patriots quarterback are waiting to see how Garoppolo responds to the shoulder surgery.
Are the 49ers making the right decision in wanting to trade Jimmy Garoppolo?
One of the unwritten rules in the NFL is that you don't select a quarterback early in the draft and then not play him. This is the situation that the San Francisco 49ers find themselves in currently. The franchise selected Trey Lance out of North Dakota State University in 2021 with the expectation that he would take over the starting job at some point last season.
That did not happen, however, and Garoppolo led the team to the NFC Championship game, where they lost 20-17 to future Super Bowl champions the Los Angeles Rams.
Lance recently spoke about what he believes hindered his progress in 2021:
"I kind of dealt with my finger throughout the season, so for me, it was kind of getting that back, and getting healthy, and feeling back to myself."
He went on:
"Like, towards the end of the season, I wasn't the best version of myself overall. It was a long season, a long pre-draft process of me not being in school. Everyone says it's going to be, but you don't really realize it until it happens."
Lance initially suffered an injury to his right index finger in last year's preseason finale against the Las Vegas Raiders. Lance also offered the following:
"I think the finger was the biggest thing just as far as throwing the ball. I had to learn to throw the ball differently without kind of using my pointer finger, because of just where it was at throughout the year. But now, I feel like I'm in a great spot, health-wise, and throwing the ball well, and feeling really good."
Despite some being weary of Lance not having much game experience during his rookie season, many believe that Garoppolo has reached his ceiling with the team. Although he got the team to the NFC Championship last year, he made costly mistakes and turnovers throughout the playoffs.
49ers fans will await to find out what happens next in San Francisco with their quarterback conundrum.
