Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
The most likely scenario is that the San Francisco 49ers will enter the 2021 season with Jimmy Garoppolo in the center. Although general manager John Lynch recently committed to this as the current plan, it has not stopped the rampant speculation that the team is still looking for an update.
Chris Simms of NBC Sports expressed concern about the availability of Garoppolo. The quarterback has lost 23 games in the past three seasons due to injuries. When he is there, however, the 49ers are successful. The obvious case in point is the 2019 campaign, during which Garoppolo started all 16 games for the first time in his NFL career, helping to guide the 49ers to a 13-3 record, the NFC West crown and an appearance in the Super Bowl.
Simms thinks San Francisco can improve the position of a defender. With anyone else, that would just be attributed to another analyst with an opinion. However, Simms is a close friend of Kyle Shanahan and can understand the thinking of the 49ers’ head coach better than most. Although, Simms admits that Shanahan is often reluctant to share any privileged information related to football with him due to his position in the media.
What options does Simms present for Shanahan and the 49ers to upgrade as a defender? He shared three scenarios via Twitter (h / t for Sports Illustrated’s Grant Cohn). By the way, none involved Deshaun Watson.
3 options I see for 49ers to update the QB position:
1) Sign a better backup for Jimmy G. No more suffering and losing games that can be won if he is out
2) Design your new guy. I see 6 guys with talent in the first round
3) Swapping for Sam Darnold– Chris Simms (@CSimmsQB) March 8, 2021
The first seems to be a more prudent option. It probably assumes that San Francisco sees Garoppolo as a potential long-term solution. Of course, the 49ers asking about other defenders in this off-season makes many wonder if that is the case.
Lynch said recently that the team needs to have a better backup plan in place if Garoppolo loses time again. The 49ers tried unsuccessfully to spend the season last year with Nick Mullens and CJ Beathard, who were ineffective substitutions. Adding a backup with more capacity can be ideal.
Option two would not necessarily result in Garoppolo’s immediate departure. San Francisco could scale a quarterback and allow him to sit for a season and learn from behind the veteran, who already has a solid grasp of the attack. The real question is whether Shanahan sees any of the best prospects as a suitable long-term replacement for Garoppolo. If so, which one or which ones does he like best?
Simms said in the past that he feels both Zach Wilson, who should be selected as No. 2 overall, and Mac Jones would be good players for the 49ers’ attack.
Option three may be the most controversial suggestion. Although Sam Darnold has physical attributes that exceed those of Garoppolo, there is some debate around his roof. Was Darnold limited by talent shortages in New York, or is his erratic game what you should expect, even with a more talented lineup?
Darnold is still only 23 and his salary offers considerable savings compared to Garoppolo’s. Is it a better long-term solution, however? Swapping Garoppolo for Darnold would be a gamble.
The good news is that if Shanahan wants Darnold and the Jets want to pass the quarterback, the head coach has a friend in New York – former 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, who is now the Jets coach. Of course, that doesn’t mean that San Francisco can stay with Darnold for a bargain fee. However, it can make the process easier.
The 49ers’ quarterback options will continue to be a storyline until all out-of-season dominoes fall.
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