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SANTA CLARA, Calif .– San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan stepped out of their offseason bunker on Monday and shed light on their plans for the newly acquired third pick in the NHL Draft. NFL next month, what will become of Jimmy Garoppolo and how they arrived at their decisions on it all.
Speaking to the media for the first time since Jan. 4, Lynch and Shanahan spent 40 minutes detailing the hows and whys of the bold move they made on Friday to acquire the Miami Dolphins’ No.3 pick in trade in the No.12 pick this year, first and third round picks in 2022, and a first round pick in 23.
Throughout, Lynch and Shanahan have not shied away from two widely held ideas: The Niners plan to draft a quarterback at No.3 and they intend to hang on to Garoppolo, barring an offer. important commercial for him.
“We’re in a situation where when you bring in a rookie quarterback, for me it’s always better, especially in the squad you have, if you already have a veteran starting that you like and you’re up to it. comfortable to win with. , that’s usually the direction you want to go, ”Shanahan said. “And don’t throw somebody else in the fire until they’re completely ready and that’s the situation we’re in … I think Jimmy, it’s going to be hard to find a quarterback who gives us a better chance of winning than Jimmy right now, especially even a rookie in the draft … Now if anyone wanted to (donate) something for (Garoppolo) and it could improve our team in many other ways you listen to it but it also depends on how good you feel for that rookie.
“And we’re not there yet yet. Chances are we probably wouldn’t be. That’s why we’re glad we don’t have to be like that. We have a guy here that we know we can win with, a guy our players love, love and we’re thrilled to have him this year and we’re thrilled to have a hell of a quarterback right behind him to learn when the time is right . “
After San Francisco’s disappointing 6-10 season, Shanahan and Lynch and their respective teams set a course in January to start exploring all possible options as a quarterback. While they believed in Garoppolo’s ability to win healthy, they also knew that they could no longer risk losing entire seasons because he couldn’t stay on the pitch.
“It’s been tough the two years he missed, it’s been tough to compete in the same way,” said Shanahan. “So we knew we had to look into that this year.”
Among the options being considered, Shanahan mentioned that the Niners looked at Matthew Stafford, who was ultimately traded to the Los Angeles Rams, and monitored the potential availability of Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson.
The idea of moving from No.12 to take one of the draft’s best rookies and keep Garoppolo on board persisted, but largely depended on a flurry of other things that happened first. When free agency first opened, their ability to keep many of their own key players such as left tackle Trent Williams and full-back Kyle Juszczyk gave the Niners two things they coveted: a roster that could immediately compete. in 2021 and the unique position of not having glaring needs. for the draft that would take them away from a big move to the quarterback.
Lynch said the Niners started talking to other teams near the top of the draft a few weeks ago, convinced there were up to five quarterbacks who could become the future face of the franchise. Those quarterbacks – Trevor Lawrence of Clemson, Zach Wilson of BYU, Trey Lance of North Dakota State, Justin Fields of Ohio State, and Mac Jones of Alabama – all had at least some appeal to Shanahan and Lynch, who studied the quarterback landscape around the league and believed they wouldn’t stand a chance on either of them if they didn’t act quickly.
“We were convinced that we were going to leave ourselves at the altar sitting there at 12 o’clock,” Shanahan said. “There are five guys participating in this party a bit and people are talking about them going all over the place. They are everywhere in the first round. Our feeling is that these guys were going to go a lot higher than people think. . “
Right before the deal became official, Lynch moved into Niners ownership and laid out the plan to move up to No.3 and keep Garoppolo and his cap of $ 26.4 million in 2021.
“We walked over to the property and said, ‘Hey, things are going well. We’d love to make that gesture, but we don’t want to say goodbye to Jimmy either, “” Lynch said. “It was a stated goal that we needed to come out with a stronger quarterback position this year and I think we put ourselves in an opportunity to do that with this move.”
In the hours leading up to the news of the exchange, Shanahan spoke to Garoppolo, explaining to him what the Niners were about to do. According to Shanahan, Garoppolo wasn’t thrilled with the idea of the team drafting his future replacement, but Shanahan said he seemed to understand the plan to bring him back and give him another chance and possibly rehabilitate his value in the process. .
“I’m sure Jimmy was a little pissed off, and so was I,” Shanahan said. “The crazier Jimmy usually gets the better off he gets. Jimmy just gets crazier and healthier, that’s going to be a good thing for Jimmy too, which could be a big deal for the 49ers.”
The next step for the 49ers is actually to write up their quarterback. Lynch and Shanahan have said they have no information on what will happen in front of them outside of what is considered to be common knowledge – that Jacksonville will take Lawrence and the Jets will choose Wilson.
Shanahan admitted that the Niners were already comfortable with three quarterbacks on the roster that would become the future of the franchise, although he obviously declined to say which ones, and that he could get there with four and five.
The Niners will spend the next few weeks doing their diligence on the best quarterbacks. Shanahan and Lynch are heading to Alabama’s second professional day to see Jones on Tuesday, while assistant general manager Adam Peters will be in Ohio to see Fields.
Shanahan said he plans to see Fields in person later after speaking with his agent, and plans to take a close look at Lance as well.
All of this, of course, will happen during a strange offseason where teams can no longer do private training, tours or dining due to continued COVID-19 restrictions. If nothing else, the Niners at least don’t have to do anything in secret anymore.
“You get to three, you don’t have to worry about that stuff,” Shanahan said. “And I think that gives us a better chance now to do our due diligence because we don’t really have to play games that way.”
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