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Yes, 49ers GM John Lynch said recently that he has no doubt that Jimmy Garoppolo will be the starting quarterback for the team in 2021. Yes, there is good reason to doubt whether that will indeed be the case.
Lynch, frankly, said what he had to say. It was no different than the things GM Howie Roseman of the Eagles said about quarterback Carson Wentz on January 4, weeks before the Eagles agreed to negotiate it with the Colts.
“In Carson’s terms, I don’t think it’s a secret that we changed to him because of what we thought about him as a person, as a player,” said Roseman at the time. “We gave him that extension because of the same things. And then, when you have players like that, they’re like fingers in your hand. You cannot even imagine that they are not part of you, that they are not here. That’s how I feel about Carson. “
Roseman did not speak the naked truth at that time because it would have made it even more difficult to get the choice of the third round and the conditional choice of the second round for Wentz that the Eagles will receive when the exchange becomes official on March 17. Likewise, Lynch couldn’t, and wouldn’t say, anything but Garoppolo is the guy for 2021 before the 49ers have an upgrade to Garoppolo on the list.
Certainly, 49ers are looking for the best option. With a consequence of a minimum limit ($ 2.4 million) and a significant amount of cash and limit to keep Garoppolo in 2021 ($ 25 million), there is every reason to look for someone who could be better in the position.
Garoppolo’s biggest flaw (aside from the wave of interceptable passes he gave in the 2019 playoff victory over Vikings that led coach Kyle Shanahan to make Jimmy G. a modern-day Bob Griese until the Super Bowl spot was guaranteed) is your inability to stay healthy. For quarterbacks, this is big business. In fact, with the rules geared towards protecting defenders, it must be much easier, not more difficult, for defenders to remain able and available to play.
So yes, there are lingering doubts about whether Garoppolo will be the starter in 2021. If not, Lynch is not doing his job to the best of his ability. Lynch is also not doing his job to the best of his ability if he says anything at this point other than that there is no doubt that the incumbent will be Garoppolo.
And if a better quarterback is available for the 49ers and the 49ers acquire it, don’t be surprised if Garoppolo is cut. Who else would pay him $ 25 million in 2021? (The answer to that question highlights the urgency to find a better option, unless 49ers can pressure Garoppolo to take less.)
If / when that happens, don’t expect many in the media to call Lynch for saying, “But you said there is no doubt that Garoppolo will be the man.” If anyone does, the answer is simple: circumstances have changed.
The 49ers, in our opinion, are quietly waiting for that to happen.