49ers cannot make any changes to the quarterback. At least, not with the initiator. All signs after week 17 point to Garoppolo starting under the center to start next season. Even if that is the case, San Francisco still needs to deal with the elephant in its quarterback room.
With Garoppolo’s injury history – he has lost 25 of a potential 57 matches since his first starting opportunity for the Patriots in 2016 – 49ers have to figure out a better contingency plan in case he gets hurt.
Teams generally do not plan to have their starting quarterback fall, but San Francisco has a very good squad to allow an injury to a quarterback who has already lost so much time to disrupt his season. Nick Mullens is not able to keep the team afloat for more than a game or two. The same can be said of CJ Beathard.
All three players arrived in Santa Clara in 2017, and have been the trio of defenders on the roster since 2018. There was also no serious competition for any of them.
Coach Kyle Shanahan on Monday told reporters in a videoconference that this off-season would be different from the quarterback’s assessment perspective.
“Yes, we will look at this more closely this year, but there is nothing to make a big statement or tweet about,” said Shanahan. “Last year, I was very happy with our starting quarterback. I was very happy and satisfied with our second string. I was very happy and satisfied with our third string. They were all under contract. We were ready to go. “
Then Shanahan offered an insight into the club’s strategy in the 2020 draft. His pickaxe was relatively empty and they needed to make a few exchanges to finally leave with five selections. It seems that in a more normal year, where they entered the draft with seven or more choices, San Francisco may have chosen a quarterback for the second time in Shanahan’s term.
“Going into the off season, it looked like we had about three draft choices,” said Shanahan of the 2020 draft process. “I think we had one in the first and then we didn’t have another until the fourth. So, it’s, ‘Okay. We are not even touching the defenders. We are fine with all three. We don’t have to worry about it too much. ‘”
They ended up with two wide receivers, a tight end and an attacker on either side of the ball.
There was a brief moment in the off-season when rumors arose about the free agent’s quarterback and Bay Area native Tom Brady wanting to play for his hometown club. After internal discussions, Shanahan and general manager John Lynch chose to stay with Garoppolo.
“Of course, when someone like the best player who ever played football is out there, you definitely look at it anyway,” said Shanahan of Brady’s free agency. “Furthermore, we were not because of our situation.”
So Shanahan discussed this off season and the dilemma of the 49ers reserve quarterback. Last year it wasn’t so worrying because Garoppolo was coming out of a 16-game season, Nick Mullens looked like a capable number 2 defender and Beathard was a good third option.
The two reserves are now set to target the free agency, forcing 49ers to comply with the quarterback’s depth chart. Shanahan explained that, although he was happy with Mullens and Beathard, the club will look for other options more than last year.
“This year, our backup and our third now, one restricted and the other unrestricted. So, you have to look at everything when trying to fill out a list of defenders, ”said Shanahan. “We have a full-back, but to know where these guys will be, we have to get or rehearse the guys we have or see if we can update them through the draft or free agency. To do this, you have to evaluate everything, to know how to stack them and other things. So we will definitely see a lot more of this stuff this year than we did last year. “
It is hard to imagine, after the club’s struggles this year with reserve quarterbacks starting in Garoppolo’s place, that the 49ers would opt for the same group. In fact, they may end up looking for a substantial upgrade, which could eventually bring down Garoppolo, whose contract ends after the 2022 season.
The wheels are spinning in the San Francisco quarterback’s room for the first time in three years, and how they navigate these waters can have a ripple effect that defines the club’s long-term future under the center.