It appears that Jimmy Garoppolo isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
With minicamps and OTAs quickly approaching, the longer that Garoppolo remains on the 49ers roster, the more likely it is that he will be around through the summer.
On the latest episode of "The Richard Sherman Podcast," the former San Francisco 49ers cornerback discussed Garoppolo's future with the team and what sort of role he will have if he's not moved before training camp.
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"I think he's going to be on the team during training camp," analyzed Sherman. "I think he'll be more of a safety valve, a really expensive safety valve but safety all the same. I think they're going to give Trey Lance [the] opportunity to start ballgames, I think they want to see it. I don't think he'll play a ton in the preseason so they'll keep a ton of backup quarterbacks during the preseason but I don't know if either of them play in the preseason. It's not worth the injury risk to Jimmy G with his cap number and it's not worth the injury risk to the guy who you want to start."
Established veteran quarterbacks taking a back seat to their hot-shot successors came to the forefront with Ryan Tannehill's recent comments of not being a "mentor." Jimmy G and Trey Lance have established a great relationship, at least publicly. Sherman sees the opening two weeks as vital for Lance's growth.
"They need Trey Lance to get live reps. If the rumored schedule that came out of them playing Carolina and then Atlanta the first two games of the season is accurate, I definitely see Trey Lance starting in those games. I think that those are two teams up-and-coming that have pieces, but I think San Francisco, on paper, would be a lot better than those teams, they would expect to (beat) those teams. They would be perfect games for Kyle [Shanahan] to draw up and scheme up plays to get Trey in his comfort zone and feel like they are in control of those ballgames."
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After the NFL draft came and went, the growing consensus has been that Garoppolo likely will remain on the roster until he's at least healthy enough to throw a football after having offseason shoulder surgery in March. Until then, trade discussions appear to be at a standstill.
Lance reportedly has been assured behind the scenes that he will be the starter next season and 49ers brass has expressed confidence in his ability to step in and lead the team starting in Week 1.
If Sherman is correct, it appears that San Francisco will have quite an expensive backup for the time being.