The San Francisco 49ers shocked much of the league on March 26. That was the day the 49ers made the blockbuster trade with the Miami Dolphins to jump up nine spots in the draft to No. 3 overall.
Some of the surprise came from the fact that the 49ers made a move of such caliber. Others were stunned with the amount of draft capital that was surrendered. But the biggest, and most talked about, bombshell was the fact that a quarterback who, at the time, was just 13 months removed from a Super Bowl appearance, remained on the roster as the team made it apparent they were fixated on drafting another signal caller.
As expected, speculation surrounding the future of San Francisco's starting quarterback dominated just about every news cycle and social media discussion. Except for one.
Jimmy Garoppolo's.
John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan have been highly regarded for their candidness with the media. The same goes for their players. When the deal was struck between the 49ers and Dolphins, Lynch was adamant to be as transparent as possible with his quarterback on their vision and hopes for the future of the franchise.
"John called me. He didn't tell me who or how they're going to do it, but he gave me the heads up before," Garoppolo said on Tuesday as a guest on The DA Show. "John has been really cool throughout this whole process. As far as a GM goes, he's as straightforward and overall a good person and you've really got to appreciate him for that. Throughout the whole thing, it could have gotten a little fishy here and there, but he was very straightforward the whole time and I appreciate him for that."
Both the 49ers and Garoppolo are keenly aware of the overused, but true, cliché that availability is the best ability. Garoppolo missed 23 of the 49ers past 48 games dating back to 2018. His absence has been evident as the 49ers went from a 13-3 record during his first full season in San Francisco, to just six wins a year later.
Stability at the quarterback position led San Francisco to the franchise-altering move to select Trey Lance third-overall. Although, obviously, not a preferred route, Garoppolo says the communication between him and the 49ers remained open and straightforward in respect to the future of the organization.
"We're pretty honest with each other," Garoppolo said of Lynch and the 49ers. "It's one of those things that he's going to come in here, I know it's going to be competition between us like it was with me and (Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback) Tom (Brady) when I got drafted in New England. But, at the end of the day all you could ask for is the opportunity. So, once they said you'll have the opportunity to start this year and fight it out, I was all for it. I'm ready for the competition and that's what we're here for."
Throughout the draft process, the 49ers have been adamant that Garoppolo is still a part of the picture, at least through 2021. Despite the array of offseason rumors, the team has continued to stand on their word and their outlook for Garoppolo's future. Meanwhile, the quarterback sees the 49ers recent occurrences as an opportunity, and, like he’s experienced once before in his career, is embracing the competition that lies ahead.
"It's one of those things you've got to roll with the punches, and whenever an opportunity presents itself, you've got to be ready to take advantage of it," Garoppolo added. "That's kind of what I've done throughout my career. Nothing's going to be handed to anyone in this league. You've got to go in there and work."
