Kyle Shanahan: "I do believe Jimmy's going to be our quarterback next year."
"Yes, I do believe Jimmy's going to be our quarterback next year."
That's what 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday when asked if he still thinks Jimmy Garoppolo will be the starting quarterback next season.
A reporter followed up and asked Shanahan what makes him so certain Garoppolo will be on the 49ers next season, considering the salary cap might go down.
Here's what Shanahan said, courtesy of the 49ers P.R. department.
"Guys, you can't say anything with certainty. You don't sit here and make promises on anything. We build a football team. It's your job to put the best team together year in and year out. People talk about Jimmy's salary. Jimmy is like one of the middle quarterbacks in the league right now in terms of salary. That's just how much they cost. So, it's not like it's something ridiculous or anything like that, so we can work all that out.
"Not to mention, look at Jimmy's record when he's been here. Jimmy, you can win with. He's proven that. He's proven he's a starting quarterback in this league. We had a couple of other guys who got opportunities this year who played like they have a chance at times to be starting quarterbacks, but they did play like backups overall. [QB] C.J. [Beathard] played like he had ability to be a starting quarterback two nights ago. He also did that in 2017 in a few games that we had with him. I remember him playing like that versus San Diego, but Jimmy, there's a reason his record is what it is and that's why we paid for him to be our starting quarterback.
"To think that that's ridiculous with where his contract is, this isn't like the first year. That's how much quarterbacks cost in this league and he's right there. I don't know the number, but I think it's somewhere between like 13th and 19th. So, that's nothing too big. That's how much they cost. Now, you look into every avenue and you see if there's something out there that can get you a ton better it's the same answer for every position. But look at Jimmy, look what he's done, look at where he's at with us financially and we better have a very good answer if you're going to find something better than that, because Jimmy's shown in one year that he's a guy who can take us to the Super Bowl and I also think Jimmy's going to get a lot better the more he plays."
To summarize, Shanahan said:
1. He won't make any promises about Garoppolo's future on the team past this season.
2. He will look into every avenue to see if he can improve at quarterback.
3. He'd have to find a "very good answer" to replace Garoppolo.
I'm guessing he'll find a very good answer and Garoppolo will be a goner. What's your guess?
