49ers to Restructure Jimmy Garoppolo’s Contract and Keep Him Another Year
What a circus this season will be.
The 49ers are going to restructure Jimmy Garoppolo's contract and keep him one more year as a backup quarterback, according to the NFL Network. Garoppolo spent training camp throwing passes on a side field as the 49ers attempted to trade him. He did not practice with the team or participate in meetings. Now, he'll do both.
Most fans and analysts felt that keeping Garoppolo another season would be insane, and so the 49ers would never do it. Afterall, the last thing Trey Lance needs is Garoppolo breathing down his neck, and Garoppolo's mere presence in the locker room could divide it.
But the 49ers have been telling us for months that they likely would keep Garoppolo. They told us when they said they said he's too good to release and they'd be happy to have him and Lance on the same team for another season. Sure, they'll trade Garoppolo, but no team wants him. So he's stuck with the 49ers.
It's possible the 49ers will find a trade partner for Garoppolo during the season before the trade deadline. Perhaps that's the main reason the 49ers held onto him. But another reason they're keeping him -- and they'll never admit this -- is that they're scared of the transition from Garoppolo to Lance. At no point since the 49ers traded up to take Lance have they shown real confidence in him. They've said the right things, but actions speak louder than words, and keeping Garoppolo is a blaring alarm that the 49ers have doubts about their young quarterback.
Yikes.
