Things are going to be entirely different than what Trey Lance likely thought would happen for the upcoming season.
The QB knew he would be taking over as the starter for the 49ers, but he likely thought Jimmy Garoppolo would be gone from the team in a trade that never materialized.
On Monday, the Niners agreed to terms on a restructured contract that will keep Garoppolo on the team in 2022. It was a jaw-dropping development for everyone that just knew he would be off the roster in some form of fashion.
Trey Lance doesn’t appear to be upset.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters that “we have a starting quarterback as a backup” in Garoppolo. He said Lance was happy to learn that he’ll remain teammates with the 30-year-old.
“When I told Trey that Jimmy’s coming back, he said ‘Awesome,'” Shanahan said. “There was no relationship to mend.”
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Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports added more insight:
“Trey and Jimmy have a great relationship,” Shanahan said. “Trey actually likes having Jimmy in the building. Trey was very grateful [for] how Jimmy was to him last year and we feel very strongly from the two people, that Jimmy will give that back to Trey this year.”
Shanahan considers the team “fortunate” to keep Garoppolo and says there’s “no way” his presence will harm the team.
“There aren’t 32 starting quarterbacks in the NFL,” Shanahan said, “and we believe we have two of them.”
For Jimmy, it’s a chance for him to be fully healed up for 2023 with also a possibility that he may find himself in the starting position if Lance fails to deliver.
And with no-trade and no-tag clauses baked into the new deal, Garoppolo will absolutely hit free agency in 2023.
