Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo currently remains on the 49ers roster, but the team excused him from its mandatory minicamp this week.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan said on Tuesday that a significant part of why the team did that was to not impede Garoppolo’s progress in his rehab from offseason shoulder surgery.
“All his rehab is down in L.A., so for him to stop it to come up here for a three-day minicamp doesn’t make much sense for him or for us,” Shanahan said in his press conference. “So, we want him to stay with his rehab. I mean, it wasn’t a real risky surgery or anything — it just takes time. So, I think the plan still — has always been — July.
“I know there’s no concerns with it and he’ll be throwing sooner than later.”
San Francisco has been working with Trey Lance as its starting quarterback throughout the offseason program and he is expected to take over the role full-time in 2022. But if the 49ers don’t trade Garoppolo before training camp begins, Shanahan said he’s still expecting Garoppolo to report to training camp and participate — though there’s a possibility he could be excused.
“I’ll think about that when that day comes,” Shanahan said. “But if Jimmy’s under contract with us and he’s healthy, right now, I would see him coming to practice unless we trade him.”
Garoppolo completed 68.3 percent of his passes for 3,810 yards with 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in the 2021 regular season. He then completed 58 percent of his passes for 535 yards with two touchdowns and three picks in the postseason.
For any team that needs a quarterback in August, Garoppolo or Cleveland’s Baker Mayfield figure to be the most attractive options on the trade market.
