Is a Rookie Quarterback Already the Starter in Kyle Shanahan's Mind?

Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch had some pretty interesting things to say in their press conference on Monday.

For starters, they were not hiding the fact that they made their trade up to the third pick to take a quarterback. I mean, that much was common knowledge. They did, however, keep a lot of things close to the chest. Or at least, they tried to.

One of the more interesting things that caught my ear was a potential hint or a slip up on Shanahan's part.

"When you bring in a starting quarterback.. I mean when you bring in a rookie quarterback, to me, it's always better, especially on the team that you have, if you've got a veteran starter there already who you like and you're comfortable winning with. That's usually the direction you want to go and not throw someone else out into the fire until they're fully ready. That's the situation we're at."

Shanahan paired "starting quarterback" and "rookie quarterback" together. That could mean they are one in the same to him for the upcoming season.

Is a rookie quarterback already the starter in Shanahan's mind?

Slip up or not, it cannot be ignored that the 49ers can roll out their rookie quarterback as the starter in Week 1. It is practically blasphemous to take a player in the top-5 and not start them no matter the position. The 49ers didn't give up all that capital to bench their rookie quarterback.

I wholeheartedly believe that the only reason Shanahan and Lynch continued to echo that Jimmy Garoppolo is here to stay this season is to keep his trade value high. How I see it, a rookie quarterback is the starter regardless of who it is this season. And it is not like Garoppolo can ride the bench at the salary he is getting paid.

Whether it is Zach Wilson, Justin Fields, Trey Lance, or dare I say Mac Jones, each of these players would offer a similar impact to Garoppolo. Any potential drop off would be minimal because these four quarterbacks should be better than what the 49ers rolled out last season.

A rookie quarterback is the future the starter in my mind, and I'd bet that it is in Shanahan's mind as well.

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