Latest On Jimmy Garoppolo's Future With 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers don't plan to trade quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo just for the sake of trading him.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan said he could envision a scenario where Garoppolo was still on the Niners' roster in 2022, despite the franchise investing a No. 3 overall pick in quarterback Trey Lance during the 2021 NFL Draft.

“That’s why we looked into trading Jimmy, because we obviously believe that Trey can be a starter,” Shanahan said during the league meetings this week via Pro Football Talk. “And we’re ready to do that. But if we can’t upgrade our team in another way, we’re not just going to get rid of a good quarterback because we have other quarterbacks on the roster.

“We know we have all guys who are capable of starting — which, Jimmy’s done a great job for us. We brought Trey here to be that eventually. And I think that’ll be sooner than later, but Jimmy gets the surgery and we can’t upgrade our team by getting some good picks until people feel good about that, I’m alright with that. We’re not just getting rid of him to get rid of him. Jimmy’s a good player that we all like as a person and as a teammate and we’re going to wait to see whatever helps the Niners the most."

Shanahan admitted that Garopopolo's recent shoulder surgery has made seeking a trade "a little bit tougher," but said the 49ers still plan to maximize the quarterback's value on the trade market.

“Everything’s good with Jimmy,” Shanahan said via Pro Football Focus. “Anytime someone gets a surgery, especially on their throwing shoulder, teams are going to be a little more nervous with what they want to offer and things like that. So I think that did put it on hold. And we’re alright with that. We went through the free-agent period, so we had to make some adjustments and do some things like that, but we’ve got him on the books right now and we’ll keep it that way until something else can improve us.”

Garoppolo started in all 15 games he appeared in for the Niners last season, leading San Francisco to a 9-6 record during that span and two playoff victories, including an upset of the No. 1 seed Green Bay Packers in the NFC Divisional Round, before being eliminated by the eventual Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game.