San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan will speak to reporters before Tuesday’s practice. The headline issue will be the team’s decision to sign Jimmy Garoppolo to a restructured one-year deal, keeping the quarterback on the roster while significantly reducing his salary. The 49ers now hold about $21 million in salary cap space, per Over The Cap. That’s up from about $3 million as of Monday morning. The deal has reportedly been in the works since last week, but wasn’t revealed until NFL insider Adam Schefter spilled all the glorious details. San Francisco tried to trade Garoppolo in the offseason. This failed miserably. It’s not entirely the 49ers’ fault, though. The quarterback shocked the team with his decision to undergo shoulder surgery on March 8. That threw a wrench into Lynch and Shanahan’s scheme. Soon after, the once booming quarterback market evaporated. The Niners had moved on with second-year quarterback Trey Lance, last year’s No. 3 overall pick, as their starter. Regardless of where things stood with their former starter, the Garoppolo-49ers marriage looked set for divorce. Along the way, the 49ers did what you’d expect. They stood by their faith in the 22-year-old quarterback while giving every indication that the 30-year-old quarterback’s time in the Bay Area was over. Now, Garoppolo is staying and will serve as his one-time protégé’s backup. Understandably, the news sent social media into a frenzy. While most see this as a business decision, perhaps the only available move for a team short on options, San Francisco could have released Garoppolo. That would free up even more salary cap space, but that could result in Garoppolo signing with the Seattle Seahawks and facing his former team twice this season. That probably wasn’t ideal in the eyes of Lynch and Shanahan. However, one Bay Area journalist sees the situation differently. He sees San Francisco’s decision to keep Garoppolo as a statement about the team’s feelings about the inexperienced Lance. “This is a fence, plain and simple,” wrote Michael Silver of the San Francisco Chronicle. “And the reason the 49ers are hedging is because they’re worried that Lance, for all his promise, won’t be good enough to lead their team that’s built to win now to its only acceptable destination — Glendale , Ariz. the following February, February 12, with York hoisting the franchise’s sixth Lombardi Trophy.” Silver points to Lance’s inconsistent training camp and even the quarterback’s shaky outing during the preseason finale against the Houston Texans as reasons why doubt may have crept into Shanahan’s head. “The most concerning thing was that he had problems with accuracy and consistency,” Silver continued. “Sometimes during OTAs, he looked like a guy who could get the ball from point A to point B with NFL ability. Other times he looked like Ricky (Wild Thing) Vaughn in the first act of ‘Major League.’ … You better believe that Shanahan and his aides were at least somewhat concerned.” Silver believes that, combined with Garoppolo’s lack of viable options, led the 49ers to where they are now. If things go south with Lance, either due to injury or inconsistent play, the team probably thinks Garoppolo isn’t a bad Plan B to have. Click here to read Silver’s full column. Nobody is perfect. Found an error in this article? Report it.
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