Jimmy Garoppolo’s time with the 49ers appears to be over.
Following San Francisco’s loss to the Eagles in the NFC Championship Game, coach Kyle Shanahan made clear in the end-of-season press conference alongside general manager John Lynch that he does not see Garoppolo returning in 2023.
Shanahan’s answer was direct and to the point.
“No,” Shanahan said when asked if he envisioned a scenario where Garoppolo returns. “I don’t see any scenario of that.”
The response from Shanahan raised eyebrows and hinted at a possible end to a longstanding relationship between quarterback and coach. The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami reported in a recent mailbag article that Garoppolo’s relationship with both Shanahan and Lynch soured leading up to the 49ers’ loss to the Eagles.
“Well, I checked around the team and discovered: Yes, the relationship between Garoppolo and Shanahan/Lynch seems to have gone a bit south in the days or weeks leading up to the NFC Championship Game loss in Philadelphia,” Kawakami writes. “I don’t know if there was a specific blow-up or conversation that led to this.
“I don’t know what the main issue was. We know that Garoppolo won a lot of games in his six seasons with the 49ers and partially bailed them out this season by agreeing to come back after believing he was going to get traded or cut last offseason.”
San Francisco 49ers
It remains to be seen what caused the potential friction, but it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. The writing was on the wall for Garoppolo ever since the 49ers selected quarterback Trey Lance with the No. 3 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Immediately after San Francisco’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game last season, Garoppolo said his goodbyes to the 49ers Faithful, a sign that his tenure with the team was ending. After Garoppolo had shoulder surgery in the offseason, throwing a wrench in the 49ers’ plans to trade him, the veteran quarterback agreed to a restructured contract to become Lance’s backup.
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When Lance suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Week 2 against the Seattle Seahawks, Garoppolo was thrust back into action, arguably putting together his best season with the 49ers before suffering a foot injury in Week 13 that sidelined him for the remainder of the season.
After five-plus seasons and an eye-popping 38-17 record as a starter, it appears that Garoppolo’s tenure with the 49ers might have ended on a sour note.