The San Francisco 49ers had one heck of a season in spite of the fact that their quarterback room was in absolute shambles by the end of the year. Now it’s time to think about next season and head coach Kyle Shanahan made it clear that there’s no room for Jimmy Garoppolo in those future plans.
The Niners made it to the NFC Championship Game for the second-straight season despite the fact that Trey Lance and Garoppolo were both injured and missed significant portions of the year. Third-stringer Brock Purdy took over and played well but was injured early in Sunday’s conference championship, leading the team to turn to their emergency quarterback, Josh Johnson.
Shanahan, who bore the brunt of the criticism for San Francisco’s 31-7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, spoke with the media on Wednesday and answered questions about where the team goes from here at the quarterback position. While the team remains invested in Lance and Purdy, he made it abundantly clear that Jimmy G’s days in the Bay Area are over.
“No. I don’t see any scenario of that,” said Shanahan when asked if Garoppolo might return to the 49ers next season.
Shanahan doesn't see any scenario in which Jimmy G is back with the 49ers next season pic.twitter.com/xQDhyEmy0y
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) February 1, 2023
It’s not very surprising given how the 49ers tried to trade Garoppolo last offseason but couldn’t find any takers due to his shoulder injury. Jimmy signed a one-year deal with the Niners this past season and will now be a free agent where he’ll probably command a decent offer from a franchise in need of a veteran quarterback.
The pressure will be on Shanahan and the 49ers to continue finding success with their younger signal-callers.
